A smiling King Charles III. received a kiss from a well-wisher as he was greeted with cheers of “God Save the King” at Buckingham Palace on Friday.
Returning to London on Thursday for the first time since the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, he climbed out of his car to meet some of the thousands of people who had gathered to mourn the new monarch and to greet.
He shook hands, accepted flowers and waved as people held up their phones to take selfies, while others offered a few words of condolence and shouts of “We love you King Charles” were heard.
“I saw the parting of his head, I wasn’t expecting it, I just wanted to bring my flowers,” said Apophia Othieno, a lecturer, adding, “It was beautiful.”
There were impromptu renditions of the national anthem, with the word “queen” changed to “king,” and shouts of “hip, hip, hooray.”
Charles, 73, wearing a black suit, tie and white shirt, then walked to see some of the bouquets and tributes left outside the palace gates for his late mother.
“It was impressive, touching, a good move to step out in front of the crowd,” said Ammar Al-Baldawi, a 64-year-old pensioner from north London.
“These are true loyalists here and it’s nice to see him back in office taking responsibility for the family and the crown, which is reassuring.”
Charles was accompanied by his wife, Camilla, the Queen Consort, before they went inside where the new king was to tape his inaugural speech on television in front of Britain and the Commonwealth.
They had flown down from Scotland, where they had been with the Queen at her estate in Balmoral, where she died on Thursday aged 96 after a record-breaking 70 years on the throne.
“He has a tough act to follow,” said Stephen Johnson, a 56-year-old Londoner.
He said he was “very emotional,” much like when Charles’ ex-wife Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
“I still worry about King Charles III,” he told AFP.
“He is our king now, we must love him, but memories of Diana are fresh, just last month we celebrated the 25th anniversary of her death.”
