King Charles III speech today: times, hours and where to watch his first address to the nation
The new monarch will return to Buckingham Palace on Friday to record his first speech as King, which will be broadcast around the world.
Friday 9 September marks the first full day of the reign of King Charles III, who ascended to the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Yesterday members of the Royal Family travelled to Balmoral Castle, Scotland to be with the Queen before she passed away and Charles and wife Camilla, now Queen Consort, remained at the estate overnight. Today the couple will travel to London to begin the first of his royal duties.
In London he will meet with the Earl Marshall, Duke of Norfolk Edward Fitzalan-Howard, to approve the plans for the funeral and the transition period. The King will also meet with Prime Minister Liz Truss, who herself only entered the role earlier this week, a whirlwind few days for the British government.
When will King Charles III give a speech to the nation?
At some point on Friday, King Charles will pre-record an address to the nation. The 73-year-old’s message will be broadcast early on Friday evening, likely around 6pm local time (1pm ET).
The historic broadcast, the first of its kind since Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in 1952, will be broadcast by the UK’s publically-owned BBC new channel. It will be carried by broadcasters around the world and will be available to stream live on the Royal Family’s Twitter and YouTube channels.
The address will be pre-recorded in Buckingham Palace, the monarch’s official residence. Thousands of mourners arrived at the palace yesterday as news of the Queen’s condition broke and there will likely be countless well-wishers at the gates again today, hoping to get a glimpse of the new King.
How will the UK government mark the Queen’s death?
This will be just one part of the country’s display of affection for the Queen, which is expected to span a 12-day period of national mourning. This period will end the day after the Queen’s funeral, which will almost certainly be designated a national holiday.
On Friday the bells will ring out from St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle at midday, and churches all across the UK will do the same.
At 1pm there will be a 96-round gun salute, marking each year of the Queen’s life. This will be fired from Hyde Park, London and other points across the country. Simultaneously, Parliament will hold a session to pay tribute to the Queen in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. New PM Liz Truss will lead the comments in the Commons.