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King Charles has paid a heartfelt tribute to his late "darling mama" Queen Elizabeth and vowed to serve as monarch with "loyalty, respect and love" as she had done for more than seven decades.

In his first address to the nation, Charles paid tribute to his mother for her devotion to her family and to those she reigned over, saying her loss brought great sadness and a "sense of loss, beyond measure".

Elizabeth, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and a towering presence on the world stage for 70 years, died on Thursday at her home in Scotland aged 96, drawing an outpouring of tributes from at home and around the globe.

Her death - which meant he became king and head of state of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms including Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea - was "the moment I've been dreading," Charles earlier told Prime Minister Liz Truss.

"Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing," Charles said in his address, which he delivered from Buckingham Palace with a photograph of her displayed next to him.

"That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today."

He and other members of the royal family had rushed to be at the Queen's side at her Scottish home, Balmoral Castle, when news of her ailing health emerged.

He returned to Buckingham Palace in London on Friday where he was greeted with cheers, applause and a crowd singing God Save The King.

In his televised message, the 73-year-old Charles reflected on his mother's promise she made in 1947, aged 21, to devote her life to the service of her peoples, a vow he pledged to emulate "throughout the remaining time God grants me".

"That was more than a promise: it was a profound personal commitment which defined her whole life. She made sacrifices for duty," he said.

"Wherever you may live in the United Kingdom, or in the Realms and territories across the world, and whatever may be your background or beliefs, I shall endeavour to serve you with loyalty, respect and love, as I have throughout my life."

Charles said he had made his eldest son William the new Prince of Wales, the title that had been his for decades and one traditionally held by the heir to the throne.

William's wife Kate becomes Princess of Wales, a role last held by the late Princess Diana.

He also expressed his love for younger son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, whose exit from their royal roles two years ago caused deep ructions within the family and provoked a major crisis in the monarchy.

On Saturday, Charles will be officially proclaimed king at a meeting of the Accession Council held at St James's Palace followed by proclamations across the UK in a show of traditional British pomp and ceremony.

The UK has declared a period of mourning until the state funeral for Elizabeth, which will be held in a little over a week's time.

Dignitaries from around the world are expected, including US President Joe Biden who said on Friday he would attend.

An online book of condolence has been opened, while thousands gathered at royal palaces to pay their respects to the woman once described by her grandson Harry as "the nation's grandmother," with some shedding tears as they laid flowers.

Joy Hounsome, 86, said she had impulsively kissed Charles's hand as she offered sympathy for his loss.

"He didn't flinch," she laughed. "He said thank you very much."

There were gun salutes at London's Hyde Park and at the Tower of London, and the bells tolled at Westminster Abbey and St Paul's, as did the Sebastopol Bell at Windsor Castle, captured during the 19th Century Crimean War.

Regular business in parliament was replaced with a special session for MPs to pay tribute to the Queen.

Parliament will also convene on Saturday, something it rarely does, to approve a message of condolence to the king.

"Since last night's shocking news, we have witnessed the most heartfelt outpouring of grief at the loss of her late majesty, the Queen," Truss told MPs.

"She was the rock on which modern Britain was built," said Truss, who Elizabeth appointed just on Tuesday in her last public duty - the 15th prime minister of her long reign.

Bereft of its symbol of continuity and resilience, the UK begins its new era with a new king and new prime minister in a grave economic crisis and following years of political division.

Long-running industrial action sparked by surging inflation was cancelled during the period of mourning.

The Bank of England said it would delay its monthly meeting to set interest rates by one week.

The Queen had been suffering from what Buckingham Palace had called "episodic mobility problems" since the end of last year, forcing her to withdraw from nearly all her public engagements.

Her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, died in April last year.

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King Charles has described the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth as the moment he had "been dreading" in an exchange with Prime Minister Liz Truss which was picked up by television cameras.

The prime minister's first meeting with the new monarch came after Charles returned to London, from Scotland, to cheering crowds outside Buckingham Palace who had come to pay their respects to the Queen.

"The moment I've been dreading, as I know a lot of people have," Charles was heard saying to the prime minister as they met in the audience room at Buckingham Palace.

Earlier, Charles and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, spent more than 10 minutes shaking hands with dozens of well-wishers and looking at floral tributes outside the palace after getting out of their car for an impromptu walkabout.

"We mustn't take up too much of your time," Charles said to Truss, who only took office herself on Tuesday.

"It has been so touching this afternoon when we arrived, all those people who had come to give their condolences ... and flowers," he added as the prime minister also offered her condolences.

The meeting took place ahead of a televised address by Charles to the nation, in which he pledged to follow the example of his mother in devoting himself to duty.

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Nathan Cleary's man-of-the-match outing against Parramatta has put the NRL on notice with Eels coach Brad Arthur admitting the Penrith half kicked his team to death.

Cleary was the star in the Panthers' 27-8 qualifying-final win on Friday, going on a blitz during a 10-minute period in the second half as Penrith went from one point down to 17 points up.

The 24-year-old three times forced errors from former teammate Waqa Blake with his bombs, with two leading to tries and putting the Panthers on the front foot.

He also did it all on return from a five-week suspension, showing no signs of rust as he took full control of Penrith's attack and sent the Eels to another knockout semi-final.

"Nathan kicked us to death really," Arthur admitted.

Penrith, for now, are the least of Parramatta's concerns as the Eels try to avoid being knocked out in the second week of the finals for the fifth time in six years.

But, ultimately, any team who wants to win this competition knows Cleary is likely to be a problem for them.

The Panthers are straight through to the preliminary final, and look as dangerous as any defending premiers possibly could be at this time of the season.

Their only real concern is a hamstring injury to Taylan May, who also found himself on report for a high tackle on Will Penisini early in the match.

But otherwise, the Panthers will enter their preliminary final off the back of a fortnight's rest and, for most players, with just one game in the 28 days prior.

And beyond all else, they have the benefit of an in-form Cleary at halfback.

"He's your star player, your halfback. When he's out there you can feel the confidence grow," co-captain Isaah Yeo said.

"His kicking game was outstanding. He knew when to run.

"You could see it happening at training but then, obviously, to come out on the big stage, he was always going to have that pressure on him.

"But he was the best player on the park by a mile tonight."

Yeo's comments came as Nathan's father Ivan praised his son's control, with the No.7 also icing a field goal.

"He came up with the right kick at the right time most of the time," Ivan said.

"We had this very game last year up in the qualifying final in Townsville, where Blake Taaffe was playing fullback (for South Sydney).

"Nathan got him on the first one and then he probably did it too often. He didn't quite get the right field position that night.

"Whereas tonight pretty much every time he put one of those floaters up we got we got a result or close to it."

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Brisbane coach Chris Fagan believes the painful lessons from AFL finals series gone by have paved the way for the Lions' stunning September surge.

The Lions are through to a preliminary final against minor premiers Geelong after a famous upset of their bogey team Melbourne on Friday night.

Brisbane turned around their dismal recent form against the Demons, recording a 13-point victory at the MCG - 14.8 (92) to 11.13 (79) - at a venue where they had lost their last 11 matches since 2014.

After entering this year's finals series with a 1-5 post-season record, blighted by two straight-sets exits under Fagan, the Lions have now triumphed in two straight sudden-death thrillers.

Fagan hailed his team's resilience for backing up last week's classic victory over Richmond with another come-from-behind win, arguably the Lions' finest since their last grand final win in 2003.

He also pointed to the pain of losing to the Western Bulldogs by a point in last year's semi-final, and going down to GWS in 2019 by three points as a source of growth.

"I always think you've got to go through a process. It's not 'you get good and then suddenly you win a premiership'," Fagan said.

"It takes a little bit longer than that and it is a process.

"All the lessons that we've learnt in finals over the last few years are starting to come to fruition.

"We were getting a bad rap for our finals record but the truth is we were a whisker away from two more prelims.

"I don't see those as bad losses. They're just sometimes the bounce of the ball or a decision or skill error.

"I've always had faith in this group that we could find a way and the way I coach is we talk about having a growth mindset."

If the Lions are to salute for their first premiership in 19 years, they will have to win two more games at the MCG.

But after a frustrating eight years on the hallowed turf, Fagan was beaming when asked about breaking the drought.

"It was a pretty good time to do it, wasn't it? You just pick the right time to do these things," Fagan said.

"It's a remarkable turnaround from three weeks ago when we got beaten by 10 goals (by Melbourne). It just goes to show, sport, fantastic, isn't it?"

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