Charles III will have a busy schedule in London, with a national address to pre-record
King Charles and Camilla, now Queen Consort, left Balmoral late on Friday morning and travelled to Aberdeen airport to fly to London and begin preparations for the Queen’s funeral and the formal process of starting Charles’s reign.
Once in London, Charles III will have a busy schedule, with an address to the nation to pre-record and a meeting with prime minister, Liz Truss, at Buckingham Palace.
He is also likely to see the Earl Marshal – currently Edward Fitzalan-Howard, the Duke of Norfolk – to approve the carefully choreographed plans for the coming days and weeks.
The King and Camilla are likely to still be travelling when church bells across the country toll at midday to commemorate the Queen. Bells will ring at St Paul’s, Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle – as well as elsewhere.
MPs and peers in the Houses of Parliament will also begin sessions at midday, paying tribute to the Queen.
The rest of the royal family has also begun to leave the Aberdeenshire estate after gathering there on Thursday afternoon, hoping to be with the Queen for her final moments.
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Prince Harry was the first seen leaving the castle on Friday morning at about 8.15am. The Duke of Sussex was also the last to arrive, reaching Balmoral about 12 hours earlier, having cancelled an appearance at a charity awards ceremony in London.
The Queen’s death was announced at 6.30pm on Thursday, shortly before the prince landed in Aberdeen.
Among those paying tribute to the Queen at Balmoral were a group of Buddhist monks who chanted at the gates in a sign of mourning.
Sujan Maharjan from Nepal, an abbot at a Buddhist centre in Aberdeen, said: “Chanting for someone who passed away is a Buddhist tradition. This is sad news for all of us. Recently we celebrated her Platinum Jubilee by inviting different faiths to our centre and that gave us a close feeling with the Queen.”
Prince Harry boarded a British Airways flight at Aberdeen airport at 10.20 on Friday morning wearing a black suit. He arrived in Heathrow just after 11.30 and is expected to stay at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
He and Meghan were concluding a brief visit to Europe when the Queen died. They are expected to stay in the UK to attend the Queen’s state funeral, likely to be held on 19 September, though that date has not been officially confirmed. The government is anticipated to make it a public holiday.