King Charles III was due to address his new subjects on Friday as Britain was plunged into mourning by the death of Queen Elizabeth II, ending a history-making 70-year reign.
Charles, 73, became monarch immediately after the death of his mother at her retreat in the Scottish Highlands on Thursday, sparking tributes at home and abroad.
He is due to return to London from Balmoral, where the 96-year-old Queen died “peacefully” after a year of ill health and decay.
Details of his inaugural speech, which are to be pre-taped, were not immediately released by the palace but are part of 10 days of detailed, pre-packaged plans refined over decades.
Also on Friday, the new king is expected to hold his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was only appointed on Tuesday in one of the Queen’s last ceremonies before her death.
He was also to meet officials responsible for his accession to the throne and the elaborate preparations for his mother’s funeral.
He will decide the length of the royal household’s mourning period, which is expected to last a month, while the UK government will observe 10 days of official commemoration when conducting limited business.
Gun salutes – one round for each year of the Queen’s life – are fired across Hyde Park in central London and from the Tower of London, the ancient royal fortress on the Thames.
Muted church bells will ring at Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and Windsor Castle, among others, and the Union flags will fly at half-mast.
Truss and other senior ministers will attend a public memorial service in St Paul’s while the UK Parliament will celebrate two days of special tributes.
The Queen’s death and its ceremonial aftermath come as the government scrambles to pass emergency legislation to address the kind of war-related economic deprivation that marked the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign in 1952.
– Honors –
British newspapers were inevitably dominated by the Queen’s passing and printed special editions to mark the occasion.
“Our hearts are broken,” headlined the popular Daily Mail tabloid. “We loved you ma’am,” said The Sun. The mirror simply wrote: “Thank you.”
Elizabeth, whose public appearances had become less frequent, died after months of illness, which first came to light after spending an unscheduled night in hospital in October 2021 due to undisclosed health tests.
In one of her final acts on Tuesday, she named Truss the 15th Prime Minister of her reign, which began with Winston Churchill at Downing Street
She could be seen smiling in photos but looking frail and leaning on a walking stick. Her hand was also bruised dark blue-purple, which caused concern.
Her coffin will initially remain at Balmoral, a private residence set amidst thousands of acres (acres) of rolling moorland and woodland.
Her closest family members had rushed to her bedside in Balmoral, where her body will now lie before being taken to the Scottish capital, Edinburgh.
From there it is to travel by train to London for the state handover and funeral.
Truss spoke on the steps of Downing Street shortly after her death was announced, hailing the “second Elizabethan age”, five centuries after the celebrated first.
“We offer him (Charles) our loyalty and devotion, just as his mother has given so much to so many, for so long,” she said in the televised address. “God save the king.”
Crowds gathered outside London’s Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle west of the capital late Thursday night, despite persistent rain, with well-wishers expected to increase in the coming days.
Londoner Joshua Ellis, 24, choked back tears as he mourned the loss of the “grandmother of the nation” at the palace.
“I know she’s 96 years old but we’re still in shock. She is in all of our thoughts and hearts,” he said.
“You could always look to the Queen, to a sense of stability. Any time people needed support, she was there.”
– ‘Dear Sovereign’ –
Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne aged just 25 in the exhausted aftermath of World War II, joining a world stage dominated by political figures from Winston Churchill to Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin.
Her record-breaking reign spanned two centuries of seismic social, political, and technological upheaval.
The last remnants of the vast British empire were crumbling. At home, Brexit shook the foundations of her kingdom and her family endured a series of scandals.
But she remained popular throughout, and was head of state not just for the UK but for 14 former British colonies, including Australia and Canada.
New Zealand proclaimed Charles its new king. But Australia’s new government appears poised to revive a push to abandon the monarchy and cast doubt on its legacy even as it mourns the queen.
Britain’s mourning will culminate in a final public farewell at Westminster Abbey in London. The day of the funeral will be a public holiday in the form of a day of commemoration.
The coronation of Charles, an elaborate ritual steeped in tradition and history, will take place on a date to be determined in the same historical setting as it has for centuries.
His reign will be formally proclaimed on Saturday by the Accession Council, which is made up of senior politicians, bishops, City of London dignitaries and Commonwealth Ambassadors.
In a statement, the new king described his mother as a “esteemed sovereign” whose loss “would be deeply felt across the land, in the realms and in the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”
“During this time of sorrow and change, my family and I are comforted and strengthened by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection that the Queen extended so widely,” said Charles.
