Poignant moment Charles and Camilla walk into Buckingham Palace alone
King Charles III walked side by side with the Queen Consort as he entered Buckingham Palace for the first time as the nation’s new monarch.
The couple spent last night at Balmoral, where senior members of the Royal Family had rushed to be with Queen Elizabeth II before she died.
Despite his own personal grief, Charles quickly turned to his duties and travelled down to London to hold his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss and deliver a televised address to a nation in mourning with him.
Moments after the King’s state Rolls-Royce pulled up outside the gates of Buckingham Palace, he stepped out and greeted the crowds lined up behind a barrier clamouring to meet him.
The Queen, as his wife Camilla is now known, followed at a distance behind him.
In a touching moment Charles put his hand around his wife, who appeared close to tears after meeting the well-wishers before they began to look at the thousands of letters, cards, bouquets and candles left in memory of his late mother.
Queen Elizabeth II dead: What happens next?
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has died after 70 years on the throne, with her death announced by Buckingham Palace on September 8, 2022.
She died at the age of 96 at her home in Balmoral, with her son, the now King Charles, and daughter Princess Anne by her side.
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Follow Metro.co.uk's live blog for the latest updates, and sign Metro.co.uk's book of condolence to Her Majesty here.
Shouts of God Save the King went up, along with three cheers, for the new head of state, dressed in mourning black suit and tie, who smiled and waved at the mass of people.
After giving a last wave to the onlookers, the pair walked alone across the forecourt and into the Palace.
Film director Raynald Leconte, 47, who is from New York, said he was lucky enough to speak to the King and Queen outside Buckingham Palace.
‘It was quite a moment,’ he said.
‘I said, “Condolences”. He said, “Really, really thank you very much”.
‘And to his wife I wished her good luck and she said, “Thank you very much”.
‘I think she said, “I’ll need it”.’
Colin Hennessy, 52, said: ‘It’s great to see the King. You can see he’s very emotional but he was very grateful to everybody here. He thanked as many people as he could as he walked by.’
Ammar Al-Baldawi, 64, from Hertfordshire, said: ‘It was impressive, touching, a good move to come out to the crowds.
‘I think that’s where the royal family needs to communicate with the people now.
‘These are true loyalists here and it’s nice to see him back in post, taking charge of the family and the Crown, which is reassuring.
‘Just seeing a glimpse of him gives you the sense we were there at that moment.
‘I’m sure he wants to be on his own to think about his mother but he’s doing his duty.’
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