The Queen will be asked by the government to suspend Parliament just days after MPs return to work in September - and only a few weeks before the Brexit deadline.
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg says it will make way for Boris Johnson's new administration to hold a Queen's Speech - laying out the government's plans - on 14 October.
But it means MPs are unlikely to have time to pass any laws that could stop the prime minister taking the UK out of the EU without a deal on 31 October.
A No 10 source said: "It's time a new government and new PM set out a plan for the country after we leave the EU."
The idea of shutting down Parliament - known as prorogation - has caused controversy, with critics saying it would stop MPs being able to play their democratic part in the Brexit process.
Laura Kuenssberg said only a small number of government ministers knew about the plan before its announcement and it would inevitably cause a huge row.
She said the government would argue it was "a bog standard Queen's Speech process", despite all of the surrounding noise.
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