The ABC says it has already started rehearsing its coverage of the death and funeral of King Charles III.

But the national broadcaster said it was also implementing valuable lessons it learned from its round-the-clock coverage of Queen Elizabeth’s passing and funeral over the past 10 days.

“Let’s face it, King Charles is 73 and has led a life that has been, shall we say, somewhat less abstemious than his mother’s,” an ABC spokesperson said. “So we need to be prepared to go to air at any time with the type of coverage we undertook since the Queen’s death was announced.”

The spokesperson said the ABC had listened closely to complaints about its coverage of the Queen’s death and funeral and would implement changes accordingly in its tributes to King Charles.

“The biggest change viewers will notice is that ABC hosts who’ll be anchoring our coverage such as Sarah Ferguson – no, not that one – and David Speers will all observe two weeks of silence instead of the traditional two minutes. (main picture)

“We think this will address viewer complaints about the sort of inane chatter that comprised most of our recent coverage,” the spokesperson said.

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The White House has explained the delay in US President Joe Biden’s return to Washington DC following Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

“The President did stay on in London for longer than originally planned,” a spokesperson said.

“The explanation for the delay in his departure is a simple one and should be no cause for concern.

“It just so happened that the official funeral directors who cared for the Queen after her death took one look at the President and on the spot offered him a two-for-one deal which Mr Biden took a while to consider, but eventually rejected and headed for home.”

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Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has reached a compromise to defuse criticism of his plan to rename the Maroondah Hospital in Melbourne’s east in memory of Queen Elizabeth II.

“I have listened to the community’s concerns about my renaming plan and have acted accordingly,” Mr Andrews said.

“I will go ahead with renaming the hospital and I remain convinced that it should commemorate an old queen.

“So I look forward to officiating at the renaming ceremony for the Molly Meldrum Hospital,” he said.