Moment King Charles III Greets Crowd For First Time As UK Monarch
King Charles III welcomed a British crowd for the first time as the official monarch of the U.K. on Friday.
The royal had just touched down in London having flown in from Aberdeen. He and his close family members spent the past 24 hours in the royal estate of Balmoral, where his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died on Thursday.
He and his sister Princess Anne, who were both in Scotland already, were reportedly by the Queen’s side during her final moments.
The king views floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace on Sep 9. (Photo: Samir Hussein via Getty Images)
Her death meant Charles automatically ascended the throne at the age of 73. Footage from Friday afternoon shows the monarch getting out of his car in funeral attire outside of Buckingham Palace, and immediately going to greet the huge crowds who had gathered to pay their respects to his late mother.
He was seen shaking many hands as people shared their condolences, while cheers from some corners of the crowd also started. Some people were in tears.
King Charles III greets the members of the public in the crowd upon his arrival at Buckingham Palace. (Photo: BEN STANSALL via Getty Images)
Chants of “God Save The Queen” and “God Save The King” erupted a few times, while one woman was seen hugging and kissing the king on the cheek when he greeted her.
Although this was pretty unexpected, and not usually how a monarch is greeted, Charles did not react negatively. One member of public reportedly kissed the King’s hand while he was on his walkabout, and there was the odd shout of “hip hip hooray.”
The King and his Queen Consort, Camilla, were then seen walking along the iron fence of the palace at the bouquets left by the general public.
The pair walked through the gates of Buckingham Palace, which is traditionally the main residence of the reigning monarch.
King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, walk into Buckingham Palace after greeting the crowd and looking at floral tributes on Sep. 9. (Photo: BEN STANSALL via Getty Images)
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
