Down to work! King Charles III meets Liz Truss, her Cabinet and the Archbishop of Canterbury on his first day in office after officially taking the throne
- Charles III had a busy first day as King after his official accession this morning
- The new King held audiences in the 1844 Room of Buckingham Palace today
- He met with PM, Cabinet, the Labour leader and the Archbishop of Canterbury
- First engagements came less than 48 hours after Queen’s death was announced
- Full coverage: Click here to see all our coverage of the Queen’s passing
King Charles III has had a busy first working day following his official accession to the throne this morning.
The newly-proclaimed King has met with government and church leaders in his first official engagements as monarch, less than 48 hours after the Queen’s death was announced.
The new King held a meeting with Prime Minister Liz Truss and members of the Cabinet in the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace.
He also held audiences with opposition leaders and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Church of England.
King Charles during an audience with British Prime Minister Liz Truss and members of her Cabinet in the 1844 Room
The UK’s recently elected Prime Minister Liz Truss stands next to the King, who officially acceded to the throne this morning. They are pictured speaking to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly (centre left) and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (left)
King Charles III during an audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss and members of her Cabinet in the 1844 Room, at Buckingham Palace
The Queen Consort speaks to Leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, during King Charles III’s audience with the Prime Minister and Cabinet members
The King’s meetings with the Prime Minister and senior politicians are famously discreet, with former PMs recalling only the scantest, mainly amusing details in their tributes to the Queen in parliament yesterday.
The King’s schedule for today shows he had meetings with the Archbishop of Canterbury at 2pm, with Prime Minister Liz Truss and members of her new cabinet at 2.30pm, and with opposition leaders including Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer at 3pm.
The meetings came at half an hour intervals, with the King’s last audience in the released schedule at 4pm with the Dean of Westminster.
King Charles shook hands with members of the cabinet including the Deputy Prime Minister Thérèse Coffey and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
King Charles III speaks with Labour leader Keir Starmer, Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey, and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, during an audience with opposition leaders in the 1844 Room
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer was pictured shaking hands with the new monarch and expressing his sympathies for the passing of the Queen
The King and Sir Keir Starmer shared a warm moment and a laugh during a meeting today
King Charles III speaks to SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford during a meeting independent of the other opposition leaders
King Charles III speaks with Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey, watched by Labour leader Keir Starmer
Ms Truss only formed her new cabinet four days ago, with Thérèse Coffey taking the role of Health Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister, Kwasi Kwarteng becoming Chancellor, James Cleverly becoming Foreign Secretay and Suella Braverman Home Secretary.
Opposition leaders also had an audience with the King this afternoon.
His Majesty met with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey, and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford.
Sir Keir Starmer was pictured shaking hands with the new monarch and expressing his sympathies for the passing of the Queen.
The pair also appeared to share a warm moment and a laugh together during the meeting.
The Archbishop of Canterbury (right) is the leader of the Church of England, and King Charles is now its Supreme Governor, taking over the role from his late mother
King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, also met with the Archbishop of Canterbury (right), the Most Reverend Justin Welby in the 1844 Room
The King also spoke to the other opposition leaders on an individual basis.
The BBC’s political editor Chris Mason said he expects the King’s meetings with leading politicians will be ‘more informal than you might expect’.
He added that even for people used to being in the limelight, ‘the history of the moment’ is not lost on the politicians who met the King today.
Earlier in the day King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, also met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby in the 1844 Room.
The meetings came at half an hour intervals, with the King’s last audience in the released schedule at 4pm with the Dean of Westminster
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the leader of the Church of England, and King Charles is now its Supreme Governor, taking over the role from his late mother.
The Archbishop, whose last meeting with the Queen was in June, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday: ‘I came away thinking there is someone who has no fear of death, has hope in the future, knows the rock on which she stands and that gives her strength.’
The Archbishop of Canterbury also dryly remarked on his ‘fortitude’ as he recounted in the Lords the experience of a winter barbecue with the Royal Family at Sandringham.
‘You felt that history was in front of you, but it was history with those piercingly blue eyes twinkling, that extraordinary smile and the relishing of a quick dry comment.’
In the House of Lords this week The Archbishop of Canterbury paid tribute to the monarch, who died on Thursday.
He dryly remarked on his ‘fortitude’ as he recounted in the Lords the experience of a winter barbecue with the Royal Family at Sandringham.
He also remarked on her ‘dry sense of humour’, adding: ‘The Church of England was very capable of giving her material.’
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