Two Westside venues are helping Birmingham’s businesses, workers and general public to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II following her death yesterday.
From today, Books of Condolence will be available to sign from 9am to 5pm daily at the Hall of Memory on Centenary Square. They will remain open until 5pm on the day following the Queen’s funeral.
Following the period of mourning, the local books will be placed in the Birmingham City Council archive at the Library of Birmingham.
And in recognition of the Queen’s extraordinary reign, the Library of Birmingham will be paying its own tribute with an exhibition of photographs charting her relationship with the city.
Mike Olley, general manager of Westside BID, said: “Here on Westside we are humbled and privileged to be playing an official part in the mourning and remembrance of Queen Elizabeth and her great reign of 70 years.
“On behalf of everyone on Westside, I offer our deepest sympathies to King Charles and the rest of the royal family as they come to terms with their sadness.”
The photographic exhibition at the Library of Birmingham will cover many of the Queen’s numerous visits to Birmingham and will be open for viewing during normal library opening hours until the day after the funeral.
Dawn Beaumont, chief librarian, said: “Here in the Library of Birmingham, we have pulled together a display featuring a variety of documents and photographs from the archives that tell the story of the Queen’s visits to the city.
“We know each of these occasions will be fondly remembered by those who were in attendance, so we wanted to offer the citizens of Birmingham and visitors to the library an opportunity to reflect upon these moments and learn more about how the city warmly welcomed the Queen whenever she came here”
Elsewhere in the city, any members of the public who wish to pay floral respects to the Queen can lay flowers at the official site in the grounds of Birmingham Cathedral, off Colmore Row.
Meanwhile, just one flag will fly from the Council House – the Union flag at half-mast. The only exception being when it is raised to full mast from 11am today (9 September) until 1pm on Saturday 10 September to mark the period covering the proclamation of the new King in London.
As well as the lowering of flags at appropriate times, the Library of Birmingham will be lit in the colour purple for every night of the period of mourning.Flags will be raised to full mast at 8am on the day after the funeral.
The Accession Proclamation, part of the formal process by which The King takes to the throne, will be read in Birmingham by Lord Mayor Cllr Maureen Cornish from outside the Library of Birmingham, Centenary Square. The date and time are to be confirmed – for the latest details visit https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/news/article/1188/death_of_queen_elizabeth_ii_-_how_birmingham_is_paying_its_respects
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