07:19
Here are a few more pictures of the death gun salutes. They are being fired every minute until 12:40pm.
07:02
Hundreds of people have lined Tower Bridge overlooking where gunshots will be fired from midday in tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh.
A helicopter is also circling above the bridge as members of the Honourable Artillery Company, wearing black face coverings, fire the huge guns over the Thames below.
Saluting batteries began firing 41 rounds at one round every minute from midday on Saturday in cities including London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, as well from Royal Navy warships.
Updated
07:00
Gun salutes to mark the death of Prince Philip have begun
Members of the Honourable Artillery Company wearing black face coverings have assembled three guns facing the River Thames to begin the gun salute to mark the Duke of Edinburgh’s death.
The uniformed personnel arrived in four military vehicles, with three towing guns, outside the Tower of London.
In an event closed to the public due to coronavirus restrictions, the servicemen have begun firing 41 rounds of gunfire every sixty seconds at midday in tribute to Philip.
The guns in London will fire in unison with army units from all corners of the UK including Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, and British Overseas Territory Gibraltar.
At sea, guns will be fired from Royal Navy ships across the globe in solemn remembrance.
Members of the public have been encouraged to watch via news channels from their homes.
06:45
Gun salutes will shortly be marking the death of the Duke of Edinburgh across the UK, in Gibraltar and from warships at sea.
Saluting batteries will fire 41 rounds from 12pm in cities including Edinburgh, London and Cardiff, and at Hillsborough Castle in County Down.
Members of The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery were seen placing empty shells into boxes in advance of a gun salute at the Parade Ground, Woolwich Barracks in central London.
Ships taking part include HMS Diamond, HMS Montrose and HMNB Portsmouth, while the Royal Gibraltar Regiment will join the salute from the British overseas territory.
The public is being encouraged to observe the gun salutes, which are fired to mark significant national events, from home, as they will be broadcast online and on television.
06:42
Within six hours of Prince Philip’s death being announced the BBC had received so many complaints about its wall-to-wall coverage of the news that it opened a dedicated complaints form on its website.
The BBC curtailed dozens of broadcasts on Friday, taking the nation’s most popular television and radio channels off air and reduced dozens of other broadcasts on stations across the country, in order to provide uninterrupted coverage of tributes to the Queen’s husband.
BBC One played a series of pre-recorded shows, including Philip’s children paying tribute to him, while BBC Two scrapped its schedule and simulcast the same shows as its sister channel. Friday night staples such as EastEnders, Gardeners’ World, and the final episode of MasterChef were taken off air to make way for more tributes, a pattern followed by ITV and Channel 5.
Although the corporation is used to finding itself in the middle of Britain’s culture wars, its handling of Philip’s death points to a deeper question over the ability of a national broadcaster to force the country together to mourn a single individual in an era where audiences are fragmented and less deferential.
Read the full story here:
