Finance
In his first address to the UK and the Commonwealth since assuming the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III pledged “lifelong service.”
The televised speech was broadcast on Friday as part of a memorial service for the late Queen, which was attended by senior politicians and 2,000 members of the public at St Paul’s Cathedral, according to the BBC.
Seventy years later, the United Kingdom witnessed the first official performance of the national anthem, ‘God Save the King,’ since Charles became monarch.
“Her dedication and devotion as Sovereign never wavered, through times of change and progress, times of joy and celebration, and times of sadness and loss,” the 73-year-old said in his televised address.
“Throughout her life, Her Majesty the Queen was an inspiration. Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.”
He expressed “profound sorrow” over his mother’s death and said he shared the public’s “sense of loss beyond measure,” according to the Xinhua news agency.
Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch in history, died on Thursday at the age of 96 at Balmoral in Scotland.
Charles, 73, will be formally proclaimed King at St. James’s Palace in London on Saturday during the Accession Council.
Charles gave his eldest son William and daughter-in-law Kate the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales, which he and his late wife Diana previously held.
He also expressed “love for Harry and Meghan as they build their lives abroad.”
“I know she will bring to the demands of her new role the steadfast devotion to duty on which I have come to rely so much,” he said of his wife of 17 years, Camilla, 75, who becomes Queen Consort.
He admitted that his life had changed, saying, “It will no longer be possible for me to devote so much of my time and energy to the charities and issues about which I am so passionate.”
“But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.”
Looking ahead to the Queen’s funeral, the King expressed his hope that despite the sorrow felt around the nation and Commonwealth people would “remember and draw strength from the light of her example”.
He concluded: “And to my darling Mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: thank you.
“Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years. May ‘flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest’.”
Source:OCN
