London The new British King Charles III. has promised lifelong service in succession to his late mother. In a televised address Friday night, he said his mother once vowed to devote “her whole life, short or long,” to serving her subjects. He now wants to renew this promise, said Charles. The Queen died Thursday at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, aged 96.
Charles appointed his son William, who is now the immediate heir to the throne, as the new Prince of Wales. Charles had previously borne this title himself. Charles said he was confident William, 40, and his wife Kate, 40, would continue to inspire British society and lead national debates as the Prince and Princess of Wales.
He was forgiving about his younger son Harry and his wife Meghan. “I also want to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build lives overseas,” the 73-year-old said in the recorded speech at Buckingham Palace.
Harry and Meghan had broken away from the inner circle of the royal family more than two years ago and now live with their children Archie (3) and Lilibet (1) in the US state of California. Harry had fallen out with his father Charles and his older brother William.
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Charles will be officially proclaimed the new king on Saturday. As announced by Buckingham Palace, the ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. (CEST) at St. James’s Palace in London. The proclamation is to be read from the castle balcony and then from other locations in the UK. However, this act is rather symbolic: the moment the Queen died, the crown automatically passed to her eldest son.
State funeral expected in ten days
With the first arrival of King Charles III, who had traveled from Scotland. at Buckingham Palace, the national flag, which flew at half-mast, had been lowered and replaced by the royal standard. This flag represents the head of state and is always raised where the monarch is present. It is the only flag that is never flown at half-staff.
Many other countries had also flown flags at half-staff after the Queen’s death, including far-flung kingdoms like Thailand and Malaysia and remote South Pacific states like the Cook Islands.
“It’s like grandma died” – people mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Prime Minister Liz Truss assured the new king of British loyalty. He, too, deserves loyalty, said the conservative politician in Parliament in London to a full house of mostly black-clad MPs.
Truss said of the Queen: “Her Majesty was one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen. Your words of wisdom have strengthened us in the most difficult of times. In the darkest moments of the pandemic, she gave us hope that we could meet (with others) again.” King Charles has also done a lot for the country in his life, for example through his efforts to protect the environment. “We owe him loyalty and devotion,” she said. “The crown will live on, the nation will live on, and in that spirit I say, long live the king.”
Hundreds of British churches rang the bells on Friday, and an hour later ceremonial gun salutes were fired across the country in memory of the late Queen. The funeral is expected to take place on Monday, September 19th. However, this has not yet been confirmed by Buckingham Palace. There will be seven days of mourning after the funeral.
Politicians from all over the world pay their respects
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, stressed the importance of the Queen to the British people on Friday. “It feels for people around the world, especially in the UK, that a part of our lives that we have taken for granted has been taken away from us,” the Church of England’s top minister said in an interview with the BBC. For many people it is not only a time of mourning, but also of uncertainty, in which they wonder what is permanent.
Politicians from all over the world paid their respects to the Queen. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) praised the queen as a “role model and inspiration for millions, also here in Germany”, French President Emmanuel Macron added the words to an initial reaction: “For you she was your queen, for us she was the queen .” No other country has visited the Queen as often as France. US President Joe Biden called the Queen a unique stateswoman and “more than a monarch”.
The Queen’s state funeral, expected in ten days, is likely to be one of the biggest events of the 21st century.
(Photo: AP)
Born in 1926, the Queen became Queen in 1952. She completed hundreds of trips abroad, including several to Germany. Most recently, she visited the Federal Republic on a state visit in 2015. The monarch always stayed out of political affairs. She also did not comment on her country’s exit from the EU (Brexit).
After the death of the Queen, Danish Queen Margrethe II (82) has significantly reduced the program for her 50th anniversary celebrations this weekend. In view of the sad news, the program will be adjusted at the Queen’s request, the Danish royal family announced on Friday. In concrete terms, this means that the greatest opportunities for the population to see the monarch at the weekend will not take place.
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