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Tag: King Charles III

  • Queen’s death: King Charles III to visit Nigeria

    Queen’s death: King Charles III to visit Nigeria

    The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Liang has disclosed that the newly crowned King of England, King Charles III will visit Nigeria.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Liang made the disclosure when she led members of staff of the Commission to a special service held for the late Queen Elizabeth II by the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion.

    The British High Commissioner disclosed this while thanking the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, and the Church for honouring the late Queen and identifying with the people of the United Kingdom (UK) in their period of mourning.

    While Liang did not release the details of the visit of King Charles III to Nigeria, she recounted her previous audiences with the late Queen as her representative to Nigeria.

    The British High Commissioner disclosed that the late Queen Elizabeth II spoke so fondly of her two visits to Nigeria in 1956 and 2003.

    “King Charles III also has great interests in Nigeria, has visited and will visit again,” she said.

    In his sermon at the special service held at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Life Camp, Abuja, Archbishop Ndukuba described the late Queen Elizabeth II of England as a defender of the Protestant faith, whose entire life was guided by her belief in Jesus Christ.

    He said that her messages always demonstrated her personal commitment to the rich inheritance of faith in the living God, convictions on marriage, morality and the dignity of human life, as rooted in the Scriptures.

    The Archbishop said in spite of her deep convictions in Christ, the Queen accommodated and respected other faiths and people.

    In the special service attended by members of the House of Bishops, clergy and laity of the Church, Ndukuba recalled her publicly declared devotion to Jesus Christ at her accession to the throne, 70 years ago.

    He said: “At her coronation when she processed into the Church, she first went to the high altar to kneel in prayer and personally surrendered her life to the Almighty God before she came down to the pomp and pageantry of the coronation.

    “Her message of Aug. 3, 2022 expressed this clearly when she said ‘throughout my life the message and teachings of Christ have been my guide and in them, find hope.”

    The Archbishop added that the Queen had run a good race in faith and life till the end.

    “If Christ and the word of God be her hope then there is the great and glorious reward of the crown of righteousness that awaits her,” he added.

    The Primate, who based his exhortation from 2nd Timothy 4: 6-8, said ” like Saint Paul the Apostle, the Queen would be remembered as the monarch whose life was spent purposefully in the service of God and her people.”

    Reflecting on her life and numerous charities that touched many indigent people, the Primate said “like Paul, she was poured out in the very service she was called.

    “As a young princess, she pledged to spend her whole life serving the people whether that life be long or short.

    “Indeed, God blessed her with longevity and she was a hallmark of humble, patient and dedicated service to the citizens of Britain and the whole world.

    ”Till the very last breath of her life, she remained resolute in her service”.

    “Queen Elizabeth II was a steadfast consistent guide to Britain, the Commonwealth and to world leaders in the most difficult periods of history, wars, economic recessions and political instabilities.”

    He also described her as a guiding light and a measure of stability, who was always calm and unruffled by challenges, whether personal, national or international.

    “She lived a purposeful and fulfilled life of service to her Kingdom and to the world,” the clergy added.

    The Nigerian Anglican leader said that her reign witnessed the transition from colonial rule to the independence and nationhood of many nations under the British Empire.

    “She wisely brought to birth those nations. As a mother, she was able to constitute them into a Commonwealth of Nations that has remained a strong bloc of nations contributing to world peace,” he added.

    Ndukuba used the occasion to remind Christians of life beyond this world, the second coming of Jesus Christ, eternal judgment and reward.

    Reading from Psalms 39: 4-6, 90:10 and 1 Peter 1:24, the Archbishop reminded Christians of ”the inevitability of death.

    “The real issue is where shall you be when this life is ended. Hebrews 9 verse 27 says ‘it is appointed for men to die once but after this comes the judgment of God.”

    He prayed that “God will raise the beloved Queen Elizabeth II at the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

    The Archbishop of Jos Province and Bishop of Yola Diocese, Markus Ibrahim, and Bishop Stephen Fagbemi of Owo Diocese, led intercessory prayers for the new King and the late Queen.

    The Cathedral’s choir ministered in hymns and a special anthem, “His Eyes are on the Sparrow”.

  • Oluwo of Iwo advises King Charles III on how to rule

    Oluwo of Iwo advises King Charles III on how to rule

    The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi has advised the new monarch of the United Kingdom, King Charles III to adopt policies that will sustain and promote the monarchical system in his reign.

    Recall that King Charles III acceded to the throne on Thursday, September 8, 2022, upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

    The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi has advised the new monarch of the United Kingdom, King Charles III to adopt policies that will sustain and promote the monarchical system in his reign.

    Recall that King Charles III acceded to the throne on Thursday, September 8, 2022, upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

    In a congratulatory statement made available by Alli Ibraheem, his Chief Press Secretary, Oba Akanbi added that such would strengthen and brighten the hope of not only the parliament but also the subjects in the institution.

    The statement noted that, “having the trust of the parliament and that of the people is sacrosanct. It will not only strengthen the monarchy System, but will also endear people to the revered institution. To enjoy this trust, I enjoin King Charles to improve the tempo of humanity service and cut costs. Cutting the cost of maintenance is in respect of the global economic challenges.

    “The Monarchy in modern times should be seen alleviating sufferings of subjects and not about amassing wealth. The happiness of the people and their welfare is the wealth of a king! Times are changing and conservative Monarchy should move with time as conservative progressive. Sustainability of Monarchy in the 21st century is on the test all around the world and the Monarchical institution needs to be preserved because without Monarchy, there is no tradition and culture!

    “How do we sustain this priceless Monarchy institution for thousands of years and for the future? We have to protect this institution at all costs.

    “Once again, I congratulate him on his ascension to the throne. His reign shall be filled with more achievements to the glory of the institution.”

  • Queen Elizabeth’s coffin to be flown to London

    Queen Elizabeth’s coffin to be flown to London

    Queen Elizabeth’s coffin will be flown to London at the end of 24 hours of lying at rest in Edinburgh’s historic cathedral, where her son King Charles and his three siblings held a silent vigil.

    Charles was joined by his sister Anne and brothers Andrew and Edward for the 10-minute vigil on Monday at St Giles’ Cathedral, where they stood, heads bowed, at the four sides of the coffin while members of the public filed past to pay their respects.

    While a bagpipe lament had been the only sound as kilted soldiers bore the casket earlier in the day, the four royals left the vigil in darkness to the sound of applause from mourners lining the street.

    Frances Thain, 63, said she had been surprised to see the queen’s four children as she entered the cathedral.

    “I was just overwhelmed because there were so much to take in,” she said.

    People queued overnight to pay their respects, with some arriving with sleeping children and many wearing winter jackets, scarves and woollen hats to keep out the cold.

    “We were desperate to be here to show our respects.” said Will Brehme, an engineer from Edinburgh, who arrived in the early hours of the morning with his partner and 20-month-old daughter sleeping in a baby carrier.

    “It is a moment that will live with us forever. When you think that she worked all of her life for us it is the least we could do.”

    Elizabeth died on Thursday in her holiday home at Balmoral Castle, in the Scottish Highlands, at the age of 96 after a 70-year reign, plunging the nation into mourning. Her funeral will be held on Sept. 19.

    Charles, 73, who automatically became king of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and Jamaica, is travelling to the four parts of the United Kingdom before the funeral, and will visit Northern Ireland on Tuesday.

    In Belfast, he will meet senior politicians and faith leaders and attend a service at the city’s St Anne’s Cathedral before returning to London.

    Tens of thousands of mourners have turned out in Scotland, with deep crowds gathering from the early hours to observe the processions along the historic Royal Mile. In London, huge numbers of people have left flowers and messages in the grounds of royal parks.

    The queen’s coffin will leave Scotland for the first time since her death when it is flown to London in the early evening and then driven to Buckingham Palace.

    On Wednesday, it will be taken on a gun carriage as part of a grand military procession to Westminster Hall where a period of lying in state will begin until Sept. 19.

    Members of the public will be allowed to process past the coffin, which will be covered by the Royal Standard flag with the sovereign’s Orb and Sceptre placed on top, for 24 hours a day until the morning of the funeral.

    The death of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch has drawn tears and warm tributes, not just from the queen’s own close family and across Britain, but also from around the globe – a reflection of her presence on the world stage for seven decades.

  • Elizabeth II to Charles III: The sun continues setting on England – By Owei Lakemfa

    Elizabeth II to Charles III: The sun continues setting on England – By Owei Lakemfa

    As a child growing up on Lagos Island, I frequently walked through the Race Course to  school. The premises of the old House of Representatives building was in that complex. Sitting outsize in a regal flowing gown was the huge bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth II. Sculptured by Nigeria artist, Ben Chukwukadibia  Enwonwu, it was commissioned in 1956 by the Queen  during her visit to Nigeria. She was the Nigerian Head of State because  the country was a British colony.

    I loved the sculpture, more so   when hanging on the wall of my home was a photograph of my beautiful mother striking the same pose. However, a major contrast was that while the Queen was quite slim, my mother had some bulge, and I was told that I was the bundle of joy growing in her.

    Then a few years later, it was reported that the statue had to be removed because protesting students had tried to destroy what was the symbol of neo-colonialism and British interference in Nigerian politics. The statue which was conceived as the  symbol of British-Nigeria friendship,  later found a home in the Museum in Lagos where such relics are housed.

    Under colonialism, it was a crime to insult the British crown. You can therefore imagine the courage of a Nigerian youth, Raji Abdallah who on being hauled before the colonial courts in 1948 for treason, famously told the judge: “I hate the crown of Britain with all my heart because to me and my countrymen, it is a symbol of oppression, a symbol of persecution, and in short, a material manifestation of iniquity.”

    There were many cases of brutish acts by the British colonialists  in Nigeria which supported Abdallah’s characterisation   of the British Crown. In 1929 when unarmed women in Eastern Nigeria protested against  the imposition of taxes on them, the British army attacked them, killing  55  women and injuring fifty. On November 18, 1949 when striking  workers in the Iva Valley Mines in Enugu refused to assist the management evacuate explosives, armed British policemen opened fire on the unarmed workers. Within minutes, 21 Nigerian workers were shot dead  with 51 injured.

    This image of the iniquity of the British Crown also manifested to Kenyans  whose lush    lands the British wanted to convert to their permanent settlement. On February 6, 1952, while on holidays in Kenya, Princess Elizabeth’s father, King George VI died and she was immediately named Queen. That same year, the Kenyans began their campaign for independence. In the eight-year insurgency, 32 White settlers  and about 200 British soldiers, policemen  and auxiliaries were killed while in the name of  Queen Elizabeth II,  the British killed an estimated 20,000 Kenyans. Officially, 1,090 Kenyans including their leader, Dedan Kimathi were hanged, and entire Kenyan villages were detained en-mass in Nazi-style concentration camps.

    There are have been mixed reactions  following  the  September 8, 2022 passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Some mourn her death while others snigger at her allegedly being the greatest receiver of stolen goods in world history. This is quite uncharitable because unlike Queen Elizabeth I who invested in   the dubious but quite lucrative business of piracy and even knighted her leading pirate, Francis Drake, Elizabeth II is not   known to have  taken part in any direct  criminality. Her guilt stems from the fact that she was Queen of England, the nation that conquered  and annexed  Scotland, Wales  and Northern Ireland and invaded, occupied or  fought  90 per-cent of the countries  that today make up the United Nations; that is  171 countries of the 193 countries in the UN. In the process, it looted countries around the world, stealing amongst other treasures,  human beings, land, crowns, gold, diamonds and  artifacts. One of the crowns Queen Elizabeth II held on to is the  Kohinoor Crown  with 2,800 diamonds which contains the 105 carat Kohinoor  diamond stolen  by Britain in the mid-19th Century  from the Mughal Peacock throne in Delhi, India. This is the crown Queen Camilla is billed to wear at Charles III’s coronation.

    Britain under her was quite wealthy; in terms of gold alone, it held about 400,000 bars worth over  £200 billion. But a lot of that wealth was stolen. For instance,  between 1705 and 1938, Britain stole over £45 trillion from India alone. But that was not under the reign of Iya Charlie, as many Nigerians called the Queen; she was just the inheritor.

    After the   May 26, 1908 discovery of oil in Iran, Britain cornered virtually the whole oil wealth   until the Iranians revolted. The British Government which in 1914 formally took control of the Iranian oil, decided  that only 16 per-cent of the oil wealth would  go to Iran. Despite this level of insatiable greed, it was   Britain alone that calculated how much wealth the Iranian oil generated, then decided how much of it was paid as tax to itself before purporting to pay the 16 per-cent.

    In protest,  Iran decided on May 2, 1952 to nationalize its oil. This did not go down well with Britain which with  the United States on August 19, 1953, overthrew the Iranian government led by Mohammed Mussadeq and imposed Shah Reza Pavlavi as the dictator of Iran. This was in the sixth month of Elizabeth II’s reign as Queen. Iranians were not to regain control of their oil wealth until 1979 when it staged its revolution.

    There is a trite saying: “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” This may be true of the Queen as she tried to balance crown  and family; it appears the latter suffered. Despite her best efforts and interventions, three of her four children were enmeshed in endless scandals especially marital.  It told of her judgment of character because under the  Royal Marriages Act 1772, she had to consent to the marriages of her children and lineage.

    Her  only daughter, Princess Anne like many  young people, had various relationships before marrying Captain Mark Phillips on November 14, 1973. They had two children, Peter and Zara Philips before they divorced in 1992. On December 12, that same  year, she  married current husband, Sir Timothy Laurence.

    Part of the complication is that Princess Anne dated Andrew Parker Bowles in 1970, but the problem was that he was a Catholic, so technically, the Queen would not approve their marriage. On  July 4,  1973  Bowles married  Camilla Rosemary  Shand. They had Tom and Laura Bowles.

    Prince Charles dated  Lady Sarah Elizabeth Spencer but they could not be allowed to marry, some say it was because she was not a virgin. So, Sarah Spencer introduced her younger sister, Diana to Charles. They met thirteen times before their clearly, pre-arranged marriage on July 29, 1981.

    Despite both being married, Prince Charles and  Mrs Camilla Parker Bowles began dating in 1986. Camilla was actually, Diana’s ninth cousin. This infidelity  led to complications in the marriages with  Camilla divorcing Bowles in 1995 and Charles divorcing  Diana in 1996, a year before she was killed in a car crash.

    Queen Elizabeth who ordered the  Charles-Diana divorce, would not accept  Camilla, a divorcee as her new daughter in-law more so as she would be in line to be Queen. Eventually, she bowed to  pressure  and Charles married Camilla in 2005.

    Perhaps the most complicated of all is Prince Andrew, the Queen’s third child who was married to the feisty Sarah Margaret Ferguson better known as Fergie.  They got married on March 19,  1986, had two daughters, princesses  Beatrice and Eugenie, and after some scandals, divorced in 1996 but still live together.

    Prince Andrew was implicated in an international paedophile scandal for  which he paid a financial settlement to Virginia Giuffre whom he had sexual relations with when she was 17.

    Queen Elizabeth II has played her role and will be laid to rest on  Monday, September 19, 2022. It is left for King Charles III to play his role. Whatever the case, the sun will continue to set on the English monarchy.

  • The Queen Dies – By Hope Eghagha

    The Queen Dies – By Hope Eghagha

    It is perhaps one of the sweetest contradictions of our times how Nigerians and indeed Africans as a race, erstwhile victims of British colonial exploitation, rapacious destruction of cultural, religious, and economic heritages have openly celebrated the life and times and mourned the death of the great Elizabeth II Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth Realms. As we now know, London Bridge ‘fell down’ last Thursday when the Supple Lioness of Buckingham and Balmoral Palaces, Defender of the Faith HRM Queen Elizabeth II shed the cloak of earthly beings and danced gloriously into eternity for a well-deserved royal rest after 70 years and 214 days on the arcane and iconic British throne, at the ripe age of 96 years.

    Fittingly, The Queen has gone to join her beloved husband of 73 years in the great beyond and they will lie side by side in a designated tomb for the royals, all well meticulously pre-planned even before Prince Phillip left Earth. Great service to the United Kingdom, great service to humanity! We are thankful for the light that her dedicated and exemplary service presented, the healthy line of successors to the British throne despite acts of individuality, and rebellion inspired by the brave new world and the republican spirit of the vivacious Meghan the American actor, wife of Prince Harry!

    Why has the world felt so enamoured with the Queen whom most of us never met? Why have ordinary folks across the world expressed such deep emotions about Queen Elizabeth? Did she represent all we would like leaders and rulers to be? Did she embody values eternal which are universal for both autocrats and democrats? Why has the African world forgotten the evil of slavery and colonialism which our encounter with the Caucasian and Arab worlds inflicted on us within a century? Is it the Christian spirit of forgiveness which the missionaries brought to us? What is the import of Desmond Tutu’s ‘When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said ‘Let us pray’. We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land’ as we examine the life and times of the Great Queen of England?

    The first response is that the Queen is distant in time from the savagery of the colonial greed and exploitation even if she was a sweet beneficiary of the colonial enterprise. The koh-i-Noor diamond set at the front of the Queen’s crown was looted from India, though the British claim that ‘the diamond could not be returned as the Queen received it as part of the Treaty of Lahore, 1849 and is currently in the crown won by the Queen’. To be sure, there are millions of pounds worth of artifacts that grace the righteous Monarchy of Great Britain that we may never know about or have access to!

    The outpouring of love for this sweet, genial, friendly, kind, beautiful, always smiling, sweet-voiced white great-grandmother from all over the world was indicative of her personal charm. Certainly not just the throne! Of course in death convention dictates that we shed all ill feelings and say the nicest things ever, even if we didn’t mean them, how the deceased was the best person that ever lived, how without the deceased the world would have come to an end, how we loved them and they loved us despite shortcomings and how we would miss them even if we go off to knock off some bottles of alcohol right after the funeral in acknowledgement of good-riddance-to-bad rubbish!

    But in the celebration and mourning of Elizabeth II there was something emotionally deep and true, beyond the façade, beyond the allure of showmanship, and the glamour of TV tears and good behaviour. There is a mystique, a grandness about and deep connection with the Queen of England. The Queen of England! I knew about the Queen of England before my own traditional ruler came into my consciousness. Indeed, anywhere one said, ‘The Queen’, it was invariably construed to refer to Queen Elizabeth. Through rhymes, stories, beautiful, colourful pictures and anecdotes, the elevated status, majesty, and importance of Queen Elizabeth became ingrained in one’s memory, one’s consciousness.

    Without physical contact, we all felt we knew the Queen, liked her, venerated her. Even highly placed officials felt some nervousness while preparing to meet her. We followed her beautiful story of becoming a monarch by default, her romance, her youthfulness when she ascended the throne of her fathers and took one the name of one of her ancestors Elizabeth I. To ascend the British throne at the tender age of 25 years, in a government and social world dominated and controlled by chauvinistic bullish men was no mean feat. And to think that the first PM she met in audience was the Great Winston Churchill tells the story of how she must have managed to navigate the waters of governing the empire and country during her early days on the throne. The Empire was crumbling, with African nations rejecting British rule and fighting for political independence, sometimes brutally as in the conflict between the colonial forces and the Mau Mau Movement in Kenya! The blood of Dedan Kimathi still cries to heaven. That is subject for another day!

    For, Britain as we know, was the greatest and most brutal colonial nation in the history of the world. At the peak of British power, she controlled about a quarter of the world’s population and landmass. India, Nigeria, Kenya, Malaya, Ghana, South Africa, Ireland, Palestine, Cyprus, Rhodesia, and Aden were all in the empire on which ‘the sun never set! Although the British claimed to be different from other colonial powers because she was committed to entrenching the rule of law, and social progress, Elkins contends that ‘Britain’s use of systematic violence was no better than that of its rivals. The British were simply skilled in hiding it’. Britain fought with America to keep that new world in her domain and lost. But Nigeria, especially the Bini people will not forget the destruction of Benin Empire after the looting of artifacts and the 1897 deportation of Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi to Calabar, because he fought with dignity to protect the honour of his people. Alongside this was control of slavery and the slave trade with its attendant wealth. The wealth of Great Britain was built on the sweat, suffering, and economic resources of the colonies.

    Queen Elizabeth was a beneficiary of a rapacious and dominating empire, even if unwittingly. By the time she took the throne however, the code of engagement was somehow more subdued. In a way, Queen Elizabeth served in the century of the common monarch if I may borrow the expression from Malcolm Muggeridge, the century when the monarchy descended from the high horse of infinite power and majesty and subjected themselves to the modern power and dictates of democracy. For before the 1848 revolutions in Europe and before the 20th century, it was inconceivable for the British monarch to share power with the common people.

    That common and personal touch to the monarchy was brought on by the Queen Elizabeth, a queen of destiny and freshness. Picture for one moment what the course of history would have been had the young Queen decided to assert the power of the throne in the traditional way in 1952!

    One could say that open hostile questions and interrogations about the relevance of the monarchy persist though anti-monarchy forces will not have their way on abolition, at least not soon. As Muggeridge argues, ‘the British monarchy took a different course. Instead of effacement, what befell it was exposure; just as the new Communists states called themselves people’s democracies, it became a people’s monarchy, with full media support and cooperation’.

    So, Queen Elizabeth was a great woman who carried herself with dignity, affection, native intelligence and commonsense. It is our hope that someday, the British throne would return the looted diamond to India, reparations for slavery of Africans, and compensate the exploited peoples of the world. Queen Elizabeth, it is true she stumbled along the line. Who wouldn’t in seventy years in a particular position of power and majesty? As we bid the great Queen goodbye, we hope and believe that her successor who has been groomed for the throne will continue the tradition of service to humanity and that as Long live the Queen fulfilled in the life of Queen Elizabeth, Long live the King will be the portion of King Charles III.

  • In solemn procession, Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin taken through Edinburgh

    In solemn procession, Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin taken through Edinburgh

    The coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth was taken along the Royal Mile in the Scottish capital Edinburgh on Monday in a solemn procession watched by thousands of people lining the street to pay their respects to Britain’s longest reigning monarch.

    The skirl of bagpipes was the only sound as kilted soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland bore the coffin from the Palace of Holyrood House and placed it in the hearse.

    King Charles and his siblings – Anne, Andrew and Edward – then walked behind the hearse up the historic street.

    The coffin will lie in St Giles’ Cathedral for an overnight vigil before being flown to London on Tuesday. A gun salute crashed out from a battery on Edinburgh Castle as the hearse began its journey. Then there was just silence.

    Elizabeth died on Thursday morning in her holiday home at Balmoral, in the Scottish Highlands, at the age of 96 after a 70-year reign, plunging the nation into mourning.

    Charles became king on her death and was formally proclaimed as monarch on Saturday.

    Tina Richardson, 63, a retiree from Dunbar, was among those standing on the centuries-old Royal Mile beside the Cathedral. She said her middle name was Elizabeth after the late queen.

    “She’s like a member of my own family. There’ll never be anyone like her,” she told Reuters. She was such a beautiful lady who gave us all so much. She dedicated her whole life to the country.

    “In good times and bad she was there, especially during COVID. She united everybody,” Richardson added.

  • What King Charles III told UK PM, Truss about Queen’s death

    What King Charles III told UK PM, Truss about Queen’s death

    King Charles III, 73, met with newly elected UK Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace in London Friday, marking their first formal meeting in their new roles.

    “It’s very kind of you to come in. I know how you’ve been busy, to say the least,” King Charles told the new premier with a laugh.

    On a more sombre note, he said that the outpouring of sympathies following his mother’s death meant so much.

    “It’s been so touching, this afternoon, when we arrived,” he said of the tributes he and his wife Camilla, Queen Consort, found in London.

    “All those people had come to give their condolences and put flowers… it’s the moment I’ve been dreading, as I know a lot of people have,” he continued, alluding to Her Majesty’s death. “But we’ll try to keep everything going.”

    Truss, 47, met Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral Castle at on Tuesday, following her election as leader of the Conservative Party.

    She became the 15th – and final – prime minister appointed by the Queen.

    The audience was historic, as it marked the first time in the Queen’s record-breaking 70-year reign that she did not meet a new premier in England.

    The Queen had been experiencing episodic mobility issues, and a source told PEOPLE the appointment was hosted at Balmoral for certainty of schedules.

    Charles and his wife, now known as Camilla, Queen Consort, had traveled to Queen Elizabeth’s side in the Scottish Highlands after Buckingham Palace announced that her doctors were ”concerned” for Her Majesty’s health Thursday.

    Charles had been in Scotland the day before, carrying out engagements.

    There, the senior royals joined by Princess Anne, Prince William, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Prince Harry, who is in Europe this week with wife Meghan Markle for a series of charity visits.

  • Prince Charles becomes King Charles III

    Prince Charles becomes King Charles III

    Prince Charles is now king, succeeding Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and the nation’s figurehead for seven decades, who died on Thursday aged 96.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that Charles to be known as King Charles II would be officially proclaimed King at St James’s Palace in London in front of a ceremonial body known as the Accession Council.

    After a fanfare of trumpeters, a public proclamation will be made declaring Charles as the new King. This will be made from a balcony above Friary Court in St James’s Palace, by an official known as the Garter King of Arms.

    He will call: “God save the King”, and for the first time since 1952, when the national anthem is played the words will be “God Save the King”.

    Gun salutes will be fired in Hyde Park, the Tower of London and from naval ships, and the proclamation announcing Charles as the King will be read in in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

    The symbolic high point of the accession will be the coronation, when Charles is formally crowned. Because of the preparation needed, the coronation is not likely to happen very soon after Charles’s accession.

    Queen Elizabeth succeeded to the throne in February 1952, but was not crowned until June 1953.

    It is a moment that the United Kingdom has been bracing for, with an elaborate plan for “Operation London Bridge” mapping out what happens next. But it comes as a shock all the same.

    The royal family said in a statement: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”

    The queen planned for her succession for some time — and Charles increasingly took on more royal duties as her health worsened.

    White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was about to end her briefing Thursday when reporters informed her of the queen’s death.

    “Okay. All right. Well, so that’s been confirmed?” a visibly shocked Jean-Pierre said as reporters read her the notification. “As I said earlier, you know, our hearts and our thoughts go to the family members of the queen, to the people of the United Kingdom.”

    Jean-Pierre said she did not want to “get ahead of what the president is going to say.”