Elizabeth II 1926-2022 | In a few hours, the speech of Charles III

The day after his accession to the throne, King Charles III went out for a long time to meet the thousands of people massed in front of Buckingham Palace on his arrival Friday at his official monarch’s residence.

Louise Leduc
The Press

After spending the night with family in Balmoral, Scotland, the new King Charles III moved to London. From there, he will address the British for the first time in the late afternoon (at noon in Quebec) during a televised address, announced the speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle.

Charles is the oldest person to ever accede to the British throne.

At the start of the extraordinary council of ministers, the British government, saying it was “united in its support for the new king”, observed a moment of silence on Friday in memory of the sovereign who had reigned for more than 70 years, Downing Street said.

Across the UK, 96 guns are fired today. The new king has said the royal mourning – which involves family, staff and representatives of the royal household – will last until seven days after the queen’s funeral, the date of which has not been confirmed, but which are scheduled to take place on September 19. The royal residences will remain closed until after the funeral and the flags there will be at half mast.

After the funeral, the Queen will be buried privately in the chapel at Windsor Castle.

Church bells rang across the UK on Friday in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.

The bells of St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London, as well as those of Windsor Castle, notably came to life as the new King Charles III was en route to London from the Scottish residence of Balmoral.

Upon exiting the car carrying him and Queen Consort Camilla, the 73-year-old sovereign approached the crowd behind barriers. In a dark suit, he shook hands, exchanged a few words, gave hand salutes, to cries of “God Save the King!” or sometimes the British anthem.

King Charles then walked through the courtyard with Camilla, his wife now queen consort, and then entered the building.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss and several of her ministers will attend a ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral, London today and the ceremony at which Charles will be proclaimed king is expected to follow on Saturday.

At the gates of Buckingham Palace as in front of the various royal residences and churches, bouquets continue to accumulate.

British railway and postal workers who have been on strike for several months to obtain better wages in the midst of the cost of living crisis have announced a suspension of their actions during these days of mourning.

Ditto for other unions in the world of transport and will resume their protest actions after the funeral.

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe has decided to cancel much of her jubilee festivities scheduled for this weekend in Copenhagen following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the royal palace has announced.

The 82-year-old Danish sovereign, who becomes with the disappearance of her distant cousin the European monarch with the longest reign in progress, was to celebrate with fanfare the 50^e anniversary of his accession to the throne.

With Reuters and Agence France-Presse