King Charles pays tribute to his ‘beloved mother’

King Charles – The new king has paid tribute to his “beloved mother” in a statement declaring the death of the Queen to be “a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family”.

The first statement “from His Majesty the King” said: “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”

In remarks released just half an hour after Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen, 96, had died peacefully at Balmoral on Thursday afternoon, Charles, 73, said: “During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the Queen was so widely held.”

The statement was issued with a Buckingham Palace letterhead, a further sign of the former Prince of Wales’s transition to head of state after some seven decades as heir to the throne.

Minutes later speaking from Downing Street, the prime minister, Liz Truss, described the new monarch as King Charles III, confirming that is how he will be known, ending speculation he may choose a different name under which to reign. She described the Queen as the “rock on which modern Britain was built” and ended her statement with the words: “God save the King.”

Also at Balmoral on Thursday evening were the Duke of York (who remains stripped of royal duties over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein), and the Earl and Countess of Wessex, who flew to Aberdeen from London on the same RAF plane as the Duke of Cambridge. The jet touched down in Aberdeen just before 4pm. They were joined at Balmoral by the Queen’s only daughter, Princess Anne.

The new King and Queen Consort had been carrying out engagements in Scotland in recent days and Charles was said to have been making regular morning visits to see his mother as she continued to struggle with her mobility.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who happened to be in the UK, had been due to attend the WellChild Awards ceremony in London on Thursday evening but Harry travelled to Balmoral and was expected to arrive on Thursday evening.

Prince William, now heir to the throne, has immediately inherited the title the Duke of Cornwall and is now the Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge, with Kate now the Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, and their children also becoming “of Cornwall and Cambridge”. By convention, he is likely to become Prince of Wales but that is a title in the gift of the new King. George, their eldest child, is now second in line to the throne, Charlotte third, and Louis fourth, with Harry once again fifth in line. Kate is now a queen in waiting.

Source – Guardian