On Friday, King Charles III was scheduled to address his subjects as Britain was in deep mourning following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, capping an unprecedented 70-year reign.
Following his mother’s passing on Thursday in her Scottish Highland retreat, Charles, 73, automatically became king. This prompted tributes both domestically and internationally.
He is scheduled to travel back to London from Balmoral, where the 96-year-old queen passed away “peacefully” following a year-long decline in health.
The palace withheld the specifics of his inaugural address, which was scheduled to be pre-recorded but was part of a 10-day schedule that had been meticulously planned and rehearsed for years.
The new king is anticipated to meet for the first time with Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday. Truss was only appointed on Tuesday during one of the queen’s final ceremonial events before her passing.
He also had a meeting with those in charge of planning his ascension and the lavish funeral arrangements for his mother.
The UK government will observe 10 days of official memory during which little work will be undertaken, and he will choose how long the royal household’s period of mourning, which is anticipated to last a month, will be.
Gun salutes — one round for every year of the queen’s life — will be fired across Hyde Park in central London and from the Tower of London, the ancient royal fortress on the River Thames.
At Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and Windsor Castle, among other locations, muffled church bells will ring, and Union flags will fly at half-staff.
The UK parliament will begin two days of special remembrances while Truss and other top ministers will attend a public memorial ceremony at St. Paul’s.
The government is working quickly to pass emergency legislation to address the same kind of war-related economic hardship that began Elizabeth’s reign in 1952 while the queen’s death and its ceremonial aftermath occur.
