King Charles III on Monday devoted himself to upholding “the precious principles of constitutional government”, in a ceremony at Westminster that served as a reminder of the monarch’s constrained role in Britain’s democracy.
As Prince of Wales, Charles had called himself an “inveterate interferer and meddler”, but the new monarch said last week that his life “will change” now that he has ascended the throne.
The “presentation of addresses” by the House of Commons and House of Lords took place in Westminster Hall, an ancient and soaring public space where Charles I was tried for treason and sentenced to death in 1649 after losing his power struggle with parliament.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, House of Commons Speaker, referred to the King’s address to the nation last week, in which he said it would “no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply”.
It was a coded reminder that in Britain’s constitutional monarchy, parliament calls the shots. Hoyle said King Charles had taken on “weighty” new responsibilities and had pledged to uphold “constitutional principles at the heart of our nation”.
In response, the King, addressing an audience of 900 MPs, peers and other dignitaries, said: “Parliament is the living and breathing instrument of our democracy.”
Charles said his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, had “pledged herself to serve her country and her people and to maintain the precious principles of constitutional government which lie at the heart of our nation”. He added that he would do the same.
While the crown has huge powers vested in it, they are nowadays held on the understanding that they are exercised only in accordance with the advice and wishes of the government of the day.
Hoyle and Lord John McFall, Lords Speaker, conveyed their condolences to the monarch at a ceremony attended by state trumpeters and scarlet-clad royal bodyguards.
The late Queen will on Wednesday come to lie in state in the hall, constructed during the reign of William Rufus, son of William the Conqueror, and later endowed with one of Europe’s finest oak roofs.
After the ceremony in Westminster, the King flew to the Scottish capital Edinburgh where he attended a thanksgiving service for his late mother in the city’s St Giles’ Cathedral, also attended by the prime minister Liz Truss.
As ceremonial guns fired from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle, King Charles led a sombre procession up the city’s Royal Mile as the late Queen’s coffin was transported from the royal palace of Holyroodhouse to the cathedral.
Thousands of well-wishers lined the street to watch the procession, many collecting wristbands that will enable them to file past the Queen’s coffin before it is flown to London on Tuesday afternoon.
The tone was overwhelmingly respectful, although police confirmed a 22-year-old man was arrested for a breach of the peace during the procession. Footage posted on social media showed him shouting abuse at Prince Andrew, the King’s younger brother, who has been disgraced by his connections to convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
After the service, the King met Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National party, which is agitating for independence for Scotland, before appearing at the Scottish parliament to receive a “motion of condolence”.
King Charles said that he shared his late mother’s admiration for the Scottish people’s “magnificent achievements and their indomitable spirit” and pledged to follow her example.
The SNP has been clear that a vote for independence would not be a vote for ending the role of the monarchy in Scotland, and Sturgeon paid a warm tribute to the late Queen, calling her “the anchor of our nation” who had demonstrated a “genuine love of Scotland”.
She added: “We stand ready to support His Majesty as he continues his own life of service and builds on the extraordinary legacy of his beloved mother Queen Elizabeth — the Queen of Scots.”
Later on Monday, the King and his siblings stood for a time in silent vigil around the coffin of their mother in the cathedral, as member of the public filed past to pay their respects.
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