Received

The Queensland government will hold a summit on the state's housing crisis next month.

The summit comes almost a year after it was first proposed by social services, charities, local governments, property and employer groups and construction companies.

Roundtable talks to plan for the gathering are due to be held on Friday.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says ministers, the Brisbane mayor and lobby groups will discuss land supply and social housing issues during the planning meeting.

"Nothing is more important than having a roof over your head - it's a basic need - and the stories of people without secure housing are heartbreaking," she said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Affordable housing is critical to maintaining our great Queensland lifestyle.

"Many of the causes of the increased housing costs are national and need national solutions.

"All levels of government have a role to play in improving the current housing situation."

There's a severe shortage of homes in Queensland, with 27,437 households on the waiting list for government housing and tight private rental vacancy rates.

Pressure is increasing because the volume of people moving to Queensland from other states is rising.

Some 220,000 people plan to move to the state from Sydney and Melbourne in the next five years, according to Property Council of Australia research released last week.

© AAP 2022

King Charles called Britain's parliament the "living and breathing instrument of our democracy" and pledged to follow his late mother Queen Elizabeth's example in maintaining its independence in an address to both chambers.

Charles arrived at Westminster Hall in London to a fanfare of trumpets with his wife Camilla, Queen Consort, for the address - part of a series of pageantry-filled ceremonies following the Queen's death on Thursday at her holiday home in Balmoral, Scotland, after 70 years on the throne.

After the address, the new monarch set out for Edinburgh to join his siblings for a solemn procession when the coffin of Queen Elizabeth is taken to the city's historic cathedral.

They will then take part in a vigil at St Giles' Cathedral, on the Scottish capital's centuries-old Royal Mile, where the coffin will lie at rest before being flown to London on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Liz Truss, still in her first week in office, and parliamentarians from the House of Commons and the House of Lords attended the address in Westminster Hall.

The Lord Speaker described the late Queen as "both a leader to and servant of her people".

Charles and Camilla sat on ceremonial chairs, with cavalry troopers in red tunics and plumed helmets standing to attention behind.

In his address, Charles said: "While very young, Her late Majesty pledged herself to serve her country and her people and to maintain the precious principles of constitutional government which lie at the heart of our nation. This vow she kept with unsurpassed devotion.

"She set an example of selfless duty which, with God's help and your counsels, I am resolved faithfully to follow."

The assembly sang God Save the King.

Charles, 73, who automatically became King of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms including Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea on his mother's death, is known for expressing his views on matters ranging from the environment to youth issues.

He has suggested that as King, he might have to moderate his style, in keeping with the tradition that the monarch keeps out of political matters.

On Sunday, the Queen's oak coffin, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, was taken by hearse on a six-hour journey from Balmoral through picturesque Scottish countryside, villages, small towns and cities to Edinburgh.

Tens of thousands of well-wishers lined the roads to pay their respects, while huge crowds, some in tears, gathered in Edinburgh to greet the cortege.

When the coffin arrives at St Giles' Cathedral, the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, the premier Scottish peer, will place the Crown of Scotland on it.

After a service, the coffin will rest there for 24 hours to allow people to pay their respects. A vigil will be mounted by soldiers from the Royal Company of Archers - the sovereign's "Body Guard in Scotland".

Charles, who will also visit the Scottish parliament and meet Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, will later mount a vigil along with other royals.

On Tuesday, the coffin will be flown to London where on Wednesday it will begin a period of lying in state until early on September 19 - the day of Elizabeth's state funeral - on a catafalque at Westminster Hall.

It will be guarded by soldiers or by Yeoman Warders - known as beefeaters - from the Tower Of London.

Members of the public will be allowed to process past the coffin, which will be covered by the Royal Standard with the sovereign's Orb and Sceptre placed on top, for 24 hours a day until 6.30am on September 19.

"Those wishing to attend will be required to queue for many hours, possibly overnight," the government said in a statement. "Large crowds are expected."

Meanwhile thousands of people continued to gather at royal palaces across Britain, bringing flowers. In Green Park near Buckingham Palace, where some of the tributes are being taken, long lines of bouquets now snake around the park allowing mourners to read the tributes.

Britain last saw such a display of public mourning in 1997 after the death of Charles's first wife, Princess Diana, in a Paris car crash.

In his first public comment since the Queen's death, Prince Harry - Diana's son - paid an emotional tribute to his "granny" on Monday, saying she would be sorely missed not just by the family, but the world over.

"Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings - from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great grandchildren."

© RAW 2022

King Charles III and his three siblings are accompanying their mother's coffin on a procession through the Scottish capital of Edinburgh.

A military bagpiper played as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the royal standard, was carried from the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and placed in a hearse.

King Charles III, dressed in army uniform, and Princes Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward are walking behind as the hearse travels to St Giles' Cathedral. The hearse is flanked by a bearer party of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and a detachment of The King's Body Guard in Scotland, the Royal Company of Archers.

The coffin will remain at the cathedral until Tuesday so members of the public can pay their respect

Earlier, Charles and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, were driven from the airport to the royal family's official residence in Edinburgh, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where Queen Elizabeth II's coffin lay overnight in the Throne Room.

On their way, they passed large crowds of people who were packed behind metal barriers along the Royal Mile, the road between Holyroodhouse and St Giles' Cathedral. Onlookers clapped and waved as the king's limousine passed.

Charles and Camilla got out of their car at Holyroodhouse and greeted people, and looked at floral tributes before a gun salute boomed from Edinburgh Castle.

Earlier, in London, Charles received condolences at parliament and told lawmakers he would follow his late mother's example of "selfless duty."

Earlier, Elizabeth II's grandson, Prince Harry, hailed her as a "guiding compass" and praised her "unwavering grace and dignity."

The government, meanwhile, announced that the nation will observe a minute of silence on Sunday, the evening before the queen's funeral. The "moment of reflection" will take place at 8pm (5am AEST). People were encouraged to mark the silence at home or at community events.

Hundreds of lawmakers crowded into the 1000-year-old Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament for the service, rich in pageantry, in which parliament offered its condolences to the King, and he replied.

A trumpet fanfare greeted him and the Queen Consort as they entered the hall, which was packed with hundreds of legislators.

Charles told members of the House of Commons and House of Lords that he would follow his late mother in upholding "the precious principles of constitutional governance" that underpin the UK's political system.

"As I stand before you today, I cannot help but feel the weight of history which surrounds us," Charles said.

Earlier on Monday, a personal statement posted on Harry and his wife Meghan's Archwell website said he cherished their times together "from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren."

Harry quit as a senior royal and moved to the US two years ago. But on Saturday, there was a sign of a possible reconciliation as Harry and Meghan joined his brother Prince William and sister-in-law Catherine in meeting mourners outside Windsor Castle.

On Tuesday, the Queen's coffin will be flown to London where it will lie in state at the Houses of Parliament Palace from Wednesday afternoon until the morning of the funeral on September 19.

Authorities already have issued rules and guidelines for people wanting to pay their respects in London, with a long queue expected.

© RAW 2022