What we know so far as Liverpool and Everton await Premier League statement after Queen’s death

Britain is mourning the death of the country’s longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, after she passed away aged 96 at Balmoral on Thursday afternoon.

She was surrounded by her children and grandchildren at the royal estate in Scotland after concerns grew about her health over the course of the day.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.

“The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”

The flag at Buckingham Palace has been lowered to half-mast.

Following the Queen’s death, her eldest son will lead the country as King Charles III.

Will football fixtures be cancelled when the Queen dies?

The passing of the Queen starts a period of mourning across the United Kingdom, as detailed in a document called ‘Operation London Bridge’ in England and ‘Operation Unicorn’ in Scotland.

As part of that plan, which is set out for the nine days following the monarch’s death, sports fixtures would indeed be postponed, although it is at the discretion of the ruling body.

Have any fixtures been postponed so far?

Yes. The EFL announced last night that Burnley’s game against Norwich in the Championship and the League Two match between Tranmere Rovers and Stockport County - both due to take place this evening - have both been postponed.

In Scotland, the game between Cove Rangers and Dundee in the second tier has been called off.

Have any football fixtures gone ahead?

Yes. Last night, Manchester United lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad while Arsenal won 2-1 away to FC Zurich in the Europa League.

West Ham, meanwhile, beat Romanian club FCSB in the Europa Conference League.

All three clubs held a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the Queen and Man Utd and Arsenal cancelled post-match press conferences.

In other sports, all horse racing today has been cancelled.

In cricket, the second day of England’s Test match against South Africa at the Oval has also been called off.

Will Premier League fixtures be postponed?

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport is due to speak on a call with leaders from across sport this morning.

When Princess Diana tragically passed away on Sunday 31 August 1997, several events were cancelled or postponed.

A Premier League match between Liverpool and Newcastle United that was due to take place later in the day was called off.

Likewise, all Football League matches that were scheduled to take place on Saturday 6 September were either moved to the previous Friday or the following Sunday as the nation observed the day of Diana’s funeral. There were no Premier League matches scheduled due to international fixtures.

A statement from the Premier League is expected later today.

Liverpool are scheduled to play Wolves at Anfield tomorrow while Everton travel to Arsenal on Sunday.

Have any Premier League clubs announced fixture postponements?

No. However, Newcastle United have postponed Eddie Howe’s pre-match press conference.

Howe was due to speak to the media this morning ahead of the Magpies’ clash against West Ham on Sunday. That has been pushed back to 13.30 BST.

Everton or Liverpool have yet to announce any postponements to their respective pre-match press conferences.

Toffees boss Frank Lampard and Reds manager Jurgen Klopp are scheduled to speak to the media at 13.30 BST.