King Charles wants the UK to enter a 'period of mourning' ahead of the Queen's funeral. It's unclear what that will look like.

• The UK is expected to enter a period of mourning to mark Queen Elizabeth II's death.
• The period will last for seven days after the Queen's funeral.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, aged 96, has triggered a period of national mourning in the UK.

In a statement sent to Insider, Buckingham Palace said the Queen "died peacefully at Balmoral" in the afternoon, ending her 70-year reign. King Charles III — as he will now be known alongside Camilla, the Queen consort — said the death marked "a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family."

A statement shared on behalf of King Charles III on The Royal Family website on Friday outlined mourning and condolences arrangements for the days following the Queen's death.

According to the royal statement, a period of royal mourning will be observed from Friday until seven days after the Queen's funeral. It did not elaborate on what this would entail, but added that royal mourning will be observed by the royal family, the staff and representatives of the royal household, and troops committed to ceremonial duties.

According to Sky News, no official plan has yet been announced for the longest-serving monarch's funeral, but a 10-day period of national mourning has officially begun as of Friday. It added that a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the funeral is likely to take place 10 days after the Queen's death, but this will be "confirmed in due course."

The Independent reported that the day of the Queen's funeral will be treated as a day of national mourning, with many shops, pubs, offices, and schools likely to close if they wish to, and the choice for essential retail stores to operate with reduced bank holiday hours. However, there has not yet been a decision on whether the day of the funeral will become a national holiday.

Other gestures taking effect during the period of national mourning include the flags at royal residences flying half mast as of Thursday, and a royal gun salute on Friday at 1 p.m. BST which fired 96 times for each year of her life, the statement added.

Additionally, the statement said the royal residences will remain closed until after the Queen's funeral but the public may leave flowers at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, the Sandringham Estate, Balmoral Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and Hillsborough Castle.

While there are no physical books of condolences located at any of the royal residences, members of the public wishing to issue condolences to the royal family can do so on the Royal Family website.

Representatives for Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.