A State Memorial Service in New Zealand for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be held on Monday, 26 September.

Following this, on Tuesday, 27 September, the New Zealand Flag will be returned to full mast.

The New Zealand Flag has been flown at half-mast since September 8, the day of Her Majesty’s passing. The Flag was raised to full mast for Proclamation Day (September 11 in New Zealand), when the new Sovereign was proclaimed as King Charles III of New Zealand, and then returned to half-mast at the end the day.

The New Zealand Flag is flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning, often to mark the passing of a person of significance or to mark national tragedies and their anniversaries.

To mark the conclusion of the period of national mourning for Her Majesty, the New Zealand Flag must be hoisted from half-mast to full mast at 8am on Tuesday 27 September. This instruction applies to all Government departments, buildings and naval vessels which have flag poles and normally fly the New Zealand Flag.

The flag has been flown at half mast 58 times since 2005, including in recent years to commemorate the death of Hon Dame Catherine Tizard, of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and of NZ Police Constable Matthew Hunt, and to mark the 10th anniversary of the Canterbury earthquake, the 10th anniversary of the Pike River Mine disaster, and the first anniversary of the Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption.