LONDON - Two days after his mother's death elevated him to the throne, King Charles III was officially proclaimed Britain’s monarch Saturday in a pomp-filled ceremony steeped in ancient tradition and political symbolism — and, for the first time, broadcast live on television and online.Charles, who spent seven decades as heir apparent, automatically became king when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died Thursday.
But the accession ceremony was a key constitutional and ceremonial step in introducing the new monarch to the country, a relic of a time before mass communications."I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty which have now passed to me," he said as he took on the duties of monarch.King Charles III leave Buckingham Palace in London, United Kingdom on September 10, 2022.(Photo by Stuart Brock/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Hours after the ceremony, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, later joined Prince William and Princess Kate at Windsor Castle to view the sea of floral tributes left by the public in honor of the princes’ grandmother.
It was the two couples’ first public appearance since the queen’s death. The princes and their wives were seen shaking hands and speaking with members of the public.Queen Elizabeth II will lie in state starting Wednesday for four days at the House of Parliament, palace officials said, after her body is brought from Balmoral, first to Edinburgh and then to London.
The state funeral will take place on Sept. 19 at Westminster Abbey.READ MORE: Queen Elizabeth II's funeral set for September 19Organizers described the ceremony as a "a fitting farewell to one of the defining figures of our times.’’(L-R).