Earlier, Charles was greeted by thousands of cheering fellow countrymen upon his arrival in London. Charles got out at the gates of Buckingham Palace, shook countless hands and thanked the people for their sympathy. The first speech of the new king to his subjects is planned for the evening (7:00 p.m. CEST). On Saturday Charles III. proclaimed king.
Thousands of people shouted at him: “God Save the King!” – “God save the king!”. Hundreds in the front row tried to capture the new king with their cellphone cameras. Queen Camilla also shook numerous hands. She wore a black dress and a pearl necklace. Together, the two then looked at the numerous bouquets of flowers and messages that people had left in front of the palace since Thursday evening. The two then walked to their new official residence. Charles previously lived in Clarence House a few hundred yards away.
King Charles and Camilla had returned from Scotland, where his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died on Thursday. The two landed in the afternoon at Northolt military airport, a good 20 kilometers north-west of London, and then drove directly to Buckingham Palace.
At St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, worshipers can attend a service in memory of the late Queen on Friday evening. The memorial service is scheduled to begin at 7pm CEST and will be televised live by the BBC. At the same time, Charles III. to the people, his address will be broadcast in the cathedral. The special session of Parliament to commemorate the Queen is adjourned.
In the morning, the British government officially announced the start of the national mourning phase. This is valid until the end of the day on which the state funeral takes place – probably on September 19th. At midday, bells rang across Britain. People stopped and listened to the ringing in front of Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, at Windsor Castle, where the Queen last lived, and in Scotland, where she died on Thursday at her Balmoral country estate. Hundreds of churches agreed.
An hour after the bells rang, ceremonial cannon salutes were fired across the country. Cannons were used at the Tower of London, in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Plymouth, York, Stonehenge and in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory at the southern tip of Spain, and on board several warships, as the Ministry of Defense reported. Soldiers, some in ceremonial uniform, fired a shot about every ten seconds, for a total of 96, one for each year of Elizabeth II’s age.
In parliament, known for its noisy debates and lively clashes between government and opposition, MPs commemorated the monarch in deep silence and with bowed heads, most of them dressed in black. In her speech, Prime Minister Truss assured the new king of Britain’s loyalty. Charles has already done a lot for the country, for example through his efforts to protect the environment. “We owe him loyalty and devotion,” she said. “The crown will live on, the nation will live on, and in that spirit I say, long live the king.”
Charles III will be proclaimed king according to the ceremonial on Saturday. As announced by Buckingham Palace, the Accession Council will meet at 11:00 a.m. CEST and the announcement will be made at 12:00 p.m. CEST from the balcony of St James’s Palace – televised live.
The proclamation is made by members of the Privy Council, which is made up mostly of current and former members of the government, church officials, judges and other public figures. To this end, the Council last met in February 1952, when Charles’ mother was proclaimed Queen after the death of her father.
A statement from the palace on Friday said it was the wish of the new King Charles III that a period of royal mourning be observed “from now until seven days after the Queen’s funeral”. The royal family has not yet given a specific date for Elizabeth’s funeral. However, it is considered likely that the funeral will take place around eleven days after the death of the Queen, who died on Thursday. That would be Monday September 19th.
The Queen’s state funeral is likely to be one of the biggest events of the 21st century. An online condolence book has been set up on the royals’ official website, allowing people from all over the world to leave messages of condolence with their name, email address and place of residence.
Heads of state and government as well as representatives of royal houses from all over the world are expected to attend the state funeral service in Westminster Abbey. The Queen will then be buried in the King George VI Chapel at Windsor Castle, where her husband Prince Philip, who died last year, is buried.
The Queen’s remains will first be taken from Balmoral Castle to Edinburgh’s Holyroodhouse Castle on Sunday. The coffin is to be flown to London on Tuesday, where it will be laid out in Westminster Hall from Thursday. Authorities expect more than a million people to file past the coffin of the late monarch over the next three days.