King Charles III praised the “vital” traditions of British parliamentarians in his first speech to parliament as monarch since taking the throne after Queen Elizabeth II’s passing.
In front of a crowded Westminster Hall of elected members of the lower chamber House of Commons and the upper chamber House of Lords, the nation’s new monarch delivered his first official legislative speech.
His late mother’s coffin will be kept in the oldest part of Britain’s centuries-old parliament beginning on Wednesday evening for four days of formal lying-in-state until her state funeral on Monday.
“As I stand before you today, I cannot help but feel the weight of history which surrounds us and which reminds us of the vital parliamentary traditions to which members of both houses dedicate yourselves,” Charles said.
“Parliament is the living and breathing instrument of our democracy,” he added, noting the queen had set “an example of selfless duty which, with God´s help and your counsels, I am resolved faithfully to follow.”
Charles will next proceed to Scotland, where he will take part in a procession to carry the queen’s casket from St. Giles’ Cathedral to Edinburgh’s Royal Mile before a religious service and vigil later on Monday.
