Queen Elizabeth II
King Charles III walked in front of Buckingham Palace Friday and shook hands with his subjects, who brought flowers to remember Queen Elizabeth II.
“God save the king!” the crowd said after Charles and Queen Camilla arrived.
In a speech Friday in London, the new king promised to serve the British people “with loyalty, respect and love, as I have throughout my life.”
“Queen Elizabeth was a life well-lived, a promise with destiny kept,” King Charles, 73, said during a televised address.
Friday’s activities included Charles giving his old title, Prince of Wales, to the heir to the throne, William, his eldest son.
During the coming days, Queen Elizabeth’s coffin will be transported from Balmoral Castle in Scotland to two Edinburgh sites — first, the Palace of Holyroodhouse (the monarch’s residence), then St. Giles’ Cathedral for a public viewing.
After that, the coffin will be transported to London’s Westminster Hall, where her subjects can go past her and pay their respect for a few days before a state funeral, set sometime in the next two weeks at Westminster Abbey.
Queen Elizabeth, who became the monarch at age 25 in 1952, was the longest-reigning monarch in Britain’s history.
— Dave Mason
