UK starts mourning queen's death with many activities postponed, canceled

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - The UK started Friday a 10-day mourning shortly after an announcement from Buckingham Palace declared the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday.

Many activities, including the business in Parliament, have been postponed.

The House of Commons will be suspended until Sept. 21 but convene on Friday midday for a special sitting with MPs paying tributes to the late queen until 10 p.m. local time. (2100GMT)

The lower house of the parliament will also sit on Saturday as a small number of senior MPs will take the oath to King Charles III and tributes will continue until 10 p.m. before the suspension.

- Sports

The English Premier League fixtures will be canceled during the weekend. Games in the Scottish, Irish, and Welsh leagues are also postponed.

All horse racing events, including one of the major events – the Royal Ascot, will not go ahead after the death of the queen.

Cricket, rugby, and hockey fixtures are also postponed for this weekend.

- Theatres

The theatres across the country are likely to continue to perform with dimmed lights and a minute of silence.

The Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre said in a statement that the scheduled theatre performances will continue during the official period of mourning.

All TV programs on major channels have also been altered due to the mourning.

- Strikes

All strikes, including Friday’s planned industrial action of Royal Mail workers, have now been canceled.

Members of the Communication Workers Union dropped a 48-hour walkout in a dispute over pay and conditions.

"Following the very sad news of the passing of the Queen and out of respect for her service to the country and her family, the union has decided to call off tomorrow’s planned strike action," the union said.

Transport union TSSA also canceled its strike in September and will be respecting the period of public mourning. Avanti West Coast members had a planned strike for three days in a row for Sept. 15-17.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union were also to strike between Sept. 15 and 17 but a statement said the action is now canceled.

"The planned railway strike action on September 15 and 17 is suspended. We express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and the country," the union said.