Queen Consort Camilla is every inch the supportive wife as she joins King Charles III to greet Realm High Commissioners at a Buckingham Palace reception
- Queen Consort Camilla appeared to be every inch the supportive wife today
- Joined Charles III to greet Realm High Commissioners at Buckingham Palace
- Camilla, 75, was elegant in a black dress, teamed with a golden necklace
- Full coverage: Click here to see all our coverage of the Queen’s passing
Queen Consort Camilla appeared to be every inch the supportive wife when joining King Charles III to greet Realm High Commissioners at a Buckingham Palace reception today.
The 75-year-old royal was elegant in a black dress, with matching heels, teamed with a golden necklace and brooch as she attended the event at the London residence.
Getting straight to work just three days after Queen Elizabeth II’s death at Balmoral, Camilla offered a smile to each guest she chatted with.
Charles III met Commonwealth general secretary Patricia Scotland in the 1844 Room at 2pm today, before attending a reception with High Commissioners and their spouses from countries where he is head of state at the royal residence’s Bow Room.
Queen Consort Camilla appeared to be every inch the supportive wife when joining King Charles III to greet Realm High Commissioners at a Buckingham Palace reception today
The 75-year-old royal was elegant in a black dress, with matching heels, teamed with a golden necklace and brooch as she attended the event at the London residence
Then at 3.30pm, the King – who was formally proclaimed at St James’s Palace yesterday – received the Dean of Windsor.
Guests at Buckingham Palace included Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and High Commissioners for Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, New Zealand, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Honorary Consul of Tuvalu and the Acting High Commissioner for Australia.
Earlier in the day, crowds lining the length of The Mall cheered and waved at Britain’s new monarch as he was driven in his state Rolls-Royce from Clarence House through the Palace gates at around 1pm, accompanied by a motorcade of four cars and four police motorbikes.
The King was followed shortly after arriving at Buckingham Palace by his wife Camilla, Queen Consort, who was also cheered by the royal fans.
Next week, the King and Queen Consort will embark on a tour of the four home nations in the run-up to his late mother’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey and burial at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, following her death at Balmoral on Thursday aged 96.
Today, the King was proclaimed as head of state at a swathe of ceremonies across Britain and the Commonwealth – from Edinburgh, Cardiff and Hillsborough castles, and the devolved parliaments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to the far-flung capitals of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Getting straight to work just three days after Queen Elizabeth II’s death at Balmoral, Camilla offered a smile to each guest she chatted with
King Charles III spoke to Realm High Commissioners and their spouses in the Bow Room at Buckingham Palace earlier today
The late Queen’s eldest son, who automatically became King three days ago, was yesterday formally proclaimed at a historic ceremony in St James’s Palace in London, following a meeting of the ancient Norman-era Accession Council.
In Edinburgh, huge crowds gathered down the Royal Mile as the King’s Body Guard for Scotland, known as the Royal Company of Archers, and the guard of honour marched from the Castle Esplanade to Mercat Cross.
They were joined by soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland, where a drill is taking place in front of the cross in Edinburgh.
Rain beat down on officials at the proclamation event in Hillsborough, as a 40-second fanfare was sounded by a bugler after the last round of the 21-gun salute was fired before the band of the Royal Irish Regiment then played one verse of God Save the King.
Guests at the event – including Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, Northern Ireland Office minister Steve Baker, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long, Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie and Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister – joined together and said three cheers for Charles III.
The newly appointed monarch was speaking to High Commissioners and their spouses from countries where he is head of state
And at Cardiff Castle, more than 2,000 people witnessed Wales Herald of Arms Extraordinary, Tom Lloyd, and the Lord-Lieutenant of South Glamorgan, Morfudd Meredith, read the proclamation of the new King in English and Welsh.
Prior to the Proclamation, 26 men of the 3rd Battalion the Royal Welsh – supported by the Band of the Royal Welsh – were marching from City Hall at 11.25am along the Boulevard de Nantes, North Road and Duke Street to the castle.
Liz Truss will join the King on tour of the UK as they lead the nation in mourning
Liz Truss will accompany the King as he visits the four corners of the United Kingdom to lead the nation in mourning.
The Prime Minister will be by His Majesty’s side as he attends services in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales next week ahead of his mother’s funeral.
While she is not required to be present, she believes it is important to be present.
Her official spokesman told reporters: ‘In terms of the Prime Minister’s involvement, she will join the King as he leads the national mourning across the United Kingdom, attending services of reflection in Scotland on Monday afternoon, in Northern Ireland on Tuesday and Wales on Friday.’
He said it would not be a formal or constitutional role but had been agreed by Downing Street and the Palace.
‘It’s not a requirement but the Prime Minister believes it’s important to be present for what is a significant moment of national mourning around the United Kingdom.’
The spokesman also said that the scale of planning the Queen’s funeral was ‘equivalent to the Olympics’ – but would need to be done in just ten days.
They were accompanied by the regimental mascot, a Welsh billy goat called Lance Corporal Shenkin IV, and Goat Major Sergeant Mark Jackson.
Charles has also been proclaimed King in cities across the Commonwealth. Speaking from parliament’s steps in Wellington, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a crowd that in the wake of the Queen’s death, New Zealand had entered a time of change.
In Canberra, Governor General David Hurley, the monarch’s representative in Australia, proclaimed Charles with a 21-gun salute at Parliament House.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a national day of mourning for the Queen would take place on September 22, with the day to be a public holiday. He also announced that he would attend Her Majesty’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19.
As a mark of respect, national flags in Australia are at half-mast, parliament has been suspended and a giant portrait of the Queen has been displayed on the sails of the Sydney Opera House.
And in Ottawa, a 28-member band of the Canadian Armed Forces played God Save the King during a 21-run gun salute at a proclamation ceremony attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Though Canadians are somewhat indifferent to the monarchy, many had great affection for the Queen, whose silhouette marks their coins. She visited the country 22 times as monarch.
Charles will visit Edinburgh, Belfast and Wales in the coming days with Camilla, and the Prime Minister, to hear condolences from politicians and respond to their words of sympathy.
The King will begin his visit to legislators at London’s Westminster Hall tomorrow, where both Houses of Parliament will express their condolences to the new monarch and his wife – and the King will give his reply.
Later that day, Charles and Camilla will fly to Edinburgh where the King will inspect the Guard of Honour at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, before attending the ceremony of the Keys on the forecourt.
During the day, the King will join his other siblings – the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence – walking behind the Queen’s coffin when it is moved from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral where it will lie for 24 hours so the public can pay their respects.
Camilla and other members of the family will travel by car and all the royals will attend a service of thanksgiving for the life of the Queen.
At the Palace, the King will hold audiences with the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, followed by an audience with Alison Johnstone, the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.
Words of sympathy will be expressed by the Scottish Parliament when Charles and Camilla attend to receive a motion of condolence, with the King replying.
That evening, the monarch will hold a vigil at the Queen’s coffin with other members of the royal family.
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