Charles is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Liz Truss and the cabinet on Saturday. The 73-year-old received the new prime minister for an audience on Friday. Charles caused a little surprise when he announced the new titles for heir to the throne William and his wife Kate.
The king replaces his mother as head of the Privy Council. The members are to advise the monarch on matters of state. Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday at the age of 96, making her eldest son Charles the new king.
When he met Truss on Friday, Charles was very personal. According to a video recording, Charles said of his mother’s death: “That was the moment I dreaded and I know a lot of people felt the same way.” Truss greeted the monarch with a curtsey and offered him her condolences. “It was so touching this afternoon when we arrived to see all these people who had come to offer their condolences and flowers,” said Charles.
Shortly before, the 73-year-old had said in his first speech to the nation that heir to the throne William and his wife Kate were getting new titles: they are now Prince and Princess of Wales. Kate was previously a duchess, with the title “Princess of Wales” the 40-year-old will carry a title that Princess Diana had last actively used during her marriage to Charles. The PA news agency quoted an inside royal source as saying Kate is aware of the history of the title but wants to look to the future and “make her own way”.
Previously, Charles himself had borne the title Prince of Wales. His wife Camilla – now “Queen Consort” – bore the title Duchess of Cornwall. The title “Prince of Wales” has long been used for the heir to the throne, but it is not an automatic right – it can be bestowed by the sovereign. William and Kate lived in Wales for a while – prior to their marriage and as a newlywed couple they lived on the Isle of Anglesey for a number of years.
The new prime minister also attended a service on Friday, which saw the UK’s national anthem, with the changed line ‘God Save The King’, sung for the first time on an official occasion. In addition, the personal pronoun was changed in the rest of the text. Already while bathing in the crowd of Charles in front of Buckingham Palace, some people had started singing the anthem with the new line. The first official performance took place in London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. During Elizabeth’s 70-year reign, the motto was always “God Save The Queen”.
Further official steps and program items will follow in the coming days: The Queen’s body is to be transferred on Sunday from Balmoral Castle, where she died, first to Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, the Queen’s residence in Scotland. The body is also to be laid out in Edinburgh.