King Charles III Undertakes First Royal Duties After Queen Elizabeth II’s Death—Here’s What To Watch For In The Coming Days

Topline

As tributes flood in from around the world lauding the late Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III prepares to address the nation as sovereign for the very first time on Friday after traveling to London to undertake his very first official duties as king. Here’s what to watch for:

Key Facts

Gun salutes—96, one for each year of the queen’s life—were fired at 1 p.m. (8 a.m. eastern time) on Friday at locations across the country in tribute, including Edinburgh Castle, York, Cardiff, Belfast, the Tower of London and Hyde Park, which is also in London.

King Charles returned to London to undertake his first official duties as sovereign and he is likely to meet with the Earl Marshal—the Duke of Norfolk, who is in charge of the accession and the queen’s funeral—to confirm plans for his mother’s funeral.

The king is also slated to meet with Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace on Friday afternoon, just days after his mother appointed her to the role Monday.

Truss led tributes to the queen in Parliament in a special session expected to run late into the night.

King Charles will address the nation for the first time as sovereign at 6 p.m. (1 p.m. eastern time), a pre-recorded televised speech that is expected to be brief and pay tribute to his late mother.

St Paul’s Cathedral in London will host an official prayer and reflection service at 6 p.m. on Friday, which is open to the public and will also be attended by Truss and senior ministers.

Charles, who automatically became king the moment his mother died, will be formally proclaimed the new sovereign by the Accession Council at 10 a.m. on Saturday at St James’s Palace.

Lawmakers in the House of Commons, one of Parliament’s two chambers, will return at 2 p.m. on Saturday for tributes to continue and allow a small number to take oaths of allegiance to the king.

Key Background

Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday afternoon after a record-breaking 70 years on the British throne. Charles, her son and the longest heir apparent in British history, acceded the throne immediately upon her death, assuming the regnal name King Charles III. The queen’s death immediately triggered a series of long-rehearsed plans, dubbed “Operation London Bridge,” to orchestrate the monumental effort to organize what follows the death of such an important and enduring figure, an ordeal that is complicated by her having passed in Scotland. In the days ahead, the queen’s coffin will be transported to London from Edinburgh by train and she will lie in state in Westminster Hall, where thousands of people are expected to pay their respects. The queen’s funeral, the plans of which have yet to be confirmed, will be a large state affair and will likely draw heads of state and important figures from around the world.

Tangent

Queen Elizabeth II’s name, image and iconography is used widely throughout Britain and many other countries on things like passports, money, flags and stamps. In the U.K. alone, her portrait covers stamps, bank notes, coins, post boxes, official government signs and more, as well as the national anthem, all of which must be changed. This task will likely take many years at significant expense.

Further Reading

King Charles III Era Begins After Queen Elizabeth’s Death— Here’s Who Is Next In Line For The Throne (Forbes)

‘Operation London Bridge’: Inside Plans For Queen Elizabeth’s Death And Funeral (Forbes)

Elizabeth II Wasn’t Just The World’s Longest-Reigning Queen—Here Are The Other Big Records She Broke (Forbes)