BECOMING KING

When Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday 8 September, at Balmoral Castle, Charles had to balance his personal grief over the loss of his ‘darling mama’ with leading national mourning for the Queen.

He immediately showed he would be a more informal monarch than his mother by going on his first walkabout as King when he came back to London the day after the Queen died.

‘I am deeply aware of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty that have now passed to me,’ King Charles said of his new role as monarch. ‘I shall strive to follow the shining example I have been set.’