King Charles III greeted his new subjects with handshakes and smiles on Friday as he returned to Buckingham Palace a day after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Britain's new king spoke to well-wishers before walking through the gates of the palace, in a surprise addition to the carefully choreographed 10-day mourning period.
As mourners offered their condolences on the queen's death, and one woman leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, a small group of admirers struck up the tune of the amended national anthem, God Save the King.
The king, who arrived with his wife Camilla, now the queen consort, bowed his head as he inspected the flowers that mourners had left at the palace railings.
The couple were driven to the palace after landing at RAF Northolt, a military airfield in west London, on their return from the Balmoral estate in Scotland where the queen died on Thursday.
King Charles, 73, returned to the palace as sunshine broke out to replace the gloomy skies that had greeted mourners earlier on Friday as they left handwritten tributes and came to witness a moment of history.
While union flags are flying at half-mast during the 10-day mourning period, the royal standard was raised above Buckingham Palace to signal that a new monarch was in residence.
The king was expected to address the nation later on Friday.
Although he assumed the throne at the moment of the queen's death, a formal proclamation ceremony will take place early on Saturday with an Accession Council of senior politicians and functionaries.
As part of the theatre of the occasion, the proclamation will first be read out from a balcony at St James's Palace in London, then at the Royal Exchange in the city's financial centre and subsequently in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Bells rang out from Britain's most historic churches on Friday as part of the nationwide tributes to the queen, whose 70-year reign was the longest of the monarchy's 1,000-year history.
The bells of Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, York Minster and those of other church towers tolled to salute the queen at midday.
A 96-gun salute, one for every year of the queen's life, followed an hour later at the Tower of London, Hyde Park, other British landmarks and Royal Navy ships at sea.
St Paul’s will hold a service of prayer and reflection on Friday evening at which Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to attend and 2,000 members of the public were offered seats on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Ms Truss paid tribute to the queen at the start of a two-day mourning period in Parliament, during which MPs will assemble for a rare Saturday session to pay their respects.
Britain in mourning after Queen Elizabeth's death — in pictures
“She was the rock on which modern Britain was built,” the prime minister said. “She bequeaths a modern, dynamic nation that has grown and flourished under her reign.”
Former prime minister Boris Johnson, one of the last people to see the queen when he formally resigned at Balmoral on Tuesday, said she had appeared “as radiant and knowledgeable and as fascinated by politics as ever”.
“Think what we asked of her … to be the figurehead of our entire system, the keystone in the vast arch of the British state,” Mr Johnson said.
Many sporting events were cancelled out of respect for the queen, including Premier League football fixtures and the second day of a Test match between England and South Africa's cricketers.
The beginning of the new monarch's reign will also bring a host of changes to practical and symbolic parts of life, from the face on coinage and banknotes to the new moniker of “His Majesty's Government”.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Brief scoreline:
Toss: South Africa, elected to bowl first
England (311-8): Stokes 89, Morgan 57, Roy 54, Root 51; Ngidi 3-66
South Africa (207): De Kock 68, Van der Dussen 50; Archer 3-27, Stokes 2-12
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Elia%20Suleiman%2C%20Manal%20Khader%2C%20Amer%20Daher%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Elia%20Suleiman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto
Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm
Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
India cancels school-leaving examinations
The biog
From: Ras Al Khaimah
Age: 50
Profession: Electronic engineer, worked with Etisalat for the past 20 years
Hobbies: 'Anything that involves exploration, hunting, fishing, mountaineering, the sea, hiking, scuba diving, and adventure sports'
Favourite quote: 'Life is so simple, enjoy it'
More on animal trafficking
Company profile
Name: One Good Thing
Founders: Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke
Based in: Dubai
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 5 employees
Stage: Looking for seed funding
Investors: Self-funded and seeking external investors
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
