Ahead of the anniversary of her death, Sir Keir Starmer has shared further details of a memorial to stand in memory of Queen Elizabeth II.

The prime minister said a new national memorial in her honour, which will stand in St James’s Park in the heart of London, will provide “everyone with a place to honour the late Queen and connect with the shared history we cherish”.

The site, approved by Charles and the Prime Minister, was chosen because of its closeness to the ceremonial route of The Mall, and Buckingham Palace, and its historical and constitutional significance, but also because of a poignant personal connection to the late Queen – the nearby statues of her beloved parents.

The King’s second year as monarch has been less hectic than his first, with cancer treatment understandably having an impact on his schedule, though he has still undertaken dozens of visits, meetings and events.

Charles has carried out official engagements on 132 days during the past year, compared with 161 days in the previous 12 months.

The second year of his reign can be divided roughly into three sections: a full schedule during the autumn of 2023, with trips around the UK as well as to France, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates, a period out of the public eye following his prostate operation in January 2024 and subsequent diagnosis of cancer, and a gradual return to regular activity from May onwards, including visits to Scotland and the Channel Islands.

The figures have been compiled by the PA news agency using the Court Circular, which is the official record of the royal family’s daily activities.

The King reaches the second anniversary of his accession to the throne and the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday, with his health “heading in a very positive trajectory”, a royal source has said.

The King, who is still considered a “newbie monarch” in comparison with his mother’s record-breaking tenure, endured a bombshell second year as sovereign, being diagnosed with cancer and dealing with ongoing treatment.

But a source said Charles had coped with the past year with a “determination to be as public as he was able” to reassure the nation about how much he could still do.

The King spent around three months away from public-facing duties and returned in April with a visit to a cancer centre in London.

He had a high profile run of engagements through the next few months with D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations in Portsmouth and Normandy, Trooping the Colour, the incoming Japanese state visit, a short trip to Jersey and Guernsey, the appointment of a new Prime Minister after Labour’s landslide general election, and the State Opening of Parliament.

The King and Queen are gearing up for an important tour to Australia and Samoa in the autumn – their first major overseas trip since news of Charles’s cancer was announced.

“Health has to remain the number one priority, albeit heading in a very positive trajectory,” the source said.

The Duke of Sussex is set to receive millions from the late Queen Mother when he celebrates his 40th birthday next week.

Prince Harry will reportedly become eligible to receive a large sum on September 15 from a trust set up by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother when he was ten years old.

An estimated £19 million was set aside by the dukes great-grandmother to be shared between her grandchildren, The Times reports.

Citing contemporary reports, the newspaper claimed William and Harry were set to receive £6 million between them when they turned 21 and a further £8 million when they turned 40. It is believed Harry would receive a larger share as William would benefit from the income from the Duchy of Cornwall.

A former Palace aide told The Times: “There was a trust fund set up at the time. It was a way in which the Queen Mother could set aside money for when her great-grandchildren were older and a way of passing a slice of her estate down in a tax-efficient way. It was a way in which some of her estate could be ring-fenced for them.”

Reports name Zara and Peter Phillips, Beatrice, Eugenie, Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto as the other beneficiaries of the fund.

Queen Camilla and her former husband Andrew Parker Bowles were all smiles on Thursday night as they came together to celebrate the launch of their son’s royal cookbook.

Dressed in a monochrome polka dot maxi dress, the Queen beamed as the entire family including her daughter, Laura Lopes, 46, and sister Annabel Eliot, 75, reunited at the event in London.

Prince William has sported a stubble on his first official engagement following his summer holiday.

The trimmed beard may symbolise more than just a change in his look however, as the heir to the throne is said to have previously argued with his now-estranged brother, Prince Harry, over facial hair in the past.

The Duke of Sussex has claimed his brother William was jealous of his beard and ordered him to shave it off before he married Meghan in 2018.

Harry wrote in his autobiography Spare how William became “livid” and “raised his voice” when the duke said he had already asked permission from their grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, to keep his beard for his wedding.

The duke said the argument went on for more than a week on the phone and in person, adding: “He wouldn’t let it go. At one point he actually ordered me, as the heir speaking to the spare, to shave.”

He claimed William “hated” the idea that he was allowed to keep his beard – a perk denied to William.

A new memorial for the late Queen Elizabeth II will be located just a few hundred metres from the Palace, in the area of St James’s Park adjacent to The Mall at Marlborough Gate, and on the east of the pathway which leads down to the lake near the park’s Blue Bridge.

The path also acts as a small section of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk – a seven-mile route through the capital in memory of the princess.

The aftermath of Diana’s death in a car crash in 1997 proved one of the most challenging times for the modern monarchy.

The Queen was perceived as being out of step with the feelings of mourners, with the public left wondering why the monarch, who was at Balmoral with Princes William and Harry, took so long to speak publicly about the tragedy.

But on the eve of the funeral, the Queen addressed the nation, saying everyone had been trying to cope in different ways and “What I say to you now, as your Queen and as a grandmother, I say from my heart.”

A committee will consider a potential Scottish memorial project for the late Queen, the First Minister has said.

John Swinney welcomed the plans for a national memorial at St James’s Park in London which were announced by the Prime Minister on Saturday. Mr Swinney said the Scottish committee would discuss the potential for a project north of the border.

Commenting on the national memorial plans, Mr Swinney said: “My thoughts, and those of the Scottish people, are with the King and the royal family as they mark the second anniversary of the death of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

“At the time of Her Majesty’s passing, many of us reflected on her long life of valued service to the nation, and the respect and admiration she had for the people of Scotland”

Ahead of the anniversary of her death, Sir Keir Starmer has shared further details of a memorial to stand in memory of Queen Elizabeth II.

The prime minister said a new national memorial in her honour, which will stand in St James’s Park in the heart of London, will provide “everyone with a place to honour the late Queen and connect with the shared history we cherish”.

The site, approved by Charles and the Prime Minister, was chosen because of its closeness to the ceremonial route of The Mall, and Buckingham Palace, and its historical and constitutional significance, but also because of a poignant personal connection to the late Queen – the nearby statues of her beloved parents.

Architects, artists and designers will be invited to submit proposals later this year to fit the brief of providing a memorial, which will serve as a space for contemplation and community and be of appropriate scale and ambition to match the late Queen’s impact.

The memorial, depending on its form, will be located just a few hundred metres from the Palace, in the area of St James’s Park adjacent to The Mall at Marlborough Gate, and on the east of the pathway which leads down to the lake near the park’s Blue Bridge.

The Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee is the independent body tasked with considering and recommending proposals to the King and the Prime Minister.

Public funds will be used to pay for the memorial, but the UK Government will also make funding available for memorial projects in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The announcement of the final design will coincide with what would have been the Queen’s 100th birthday year in 2026.