King Charles III speaks at Westminster Hall, where both Houses of Parliament were meeting on Monday to express their condolences after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. AP
King Charles III speaks at Westminster Hall, where both Houses of Parliament were meeting on Monday to express their condolences after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. AP
King Charles III speaks at Westminster Hall, where both Houses of Parliament were meeting on Monday to express their condolences after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. AP
King Charles III speaks at Westminster Hall, where both Houses of Parliament were meeting on Monday to express their condolences after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. AP

Stability and history as King Charles turns to Shakespeare in first address to Parliament


Thomas Harding
  • English
  • Arabic

Between four walls in which 1,000 years of regal and political history has unfolded, King Charles III on Monday addressed the British Parliament for the first time, stating his resolve to uphold his mother’s devotion to government.

Watched by members of the Houses of Lords and Commons, the king entered the north door of the ancient Westminster Hall, smiling at faces he recognised as he walked down the aisle, within touching distance of The National’s seat.

Dressed in a black tie and coat tails and accompanied by Queen Consort Camilla, the monarch appeared relaxed and content as he moved calmly towards the raised, red throne, marking a crucial constitutional moment in the transition of power after Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

For the first time, it was decided that the condolences offered, known as the Presentation of Address, should be made in the same ceremony in which the new king responded in person, making Monday’s event one of special significance.

King Charles III led a procession behind the queen’s coffin along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile on Monday as the cortege made its way to St Giles' Cathedral for a service of remembrance.

The new monarch met with mourners outside Holyroodhouse after arriving from London, shaking handing, accepting condolences and reading floral tributes left for the queen, as officials waited to offer him the keys to Edinburgh.

The tune of God Save the King rang out around the city, before a 21 gun salute was fired and the king was invited to inspect the guard of honour.

The coffin rested at St Giles' Cathedral for a period of 24 hours to enable people of Scotland to pay their last respects. Continuous vigils mounted on the coffin by the Royal Company of Archers while the King and royals mounted an evening vigil on Monday.

At the outset of the day, the hum of politicians’ murmurs fell silent as 16 members of King’s Bodyguard slow-marched to the Westminster Hall steps, followed by the nine silver helmets with white swan-feather plumes of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms.

The sense of occasion was immense as the grey head of the new monarch emerged at the north door of Westminster Hall, King Charles passed the rows of his new subjects across the same paving stones that William II had at the end of the 11th century and where Charles I faced trial and was sentenced to death in 1649.

That constitutional crisis between crown and parliament has long since been resolved but constant reminders in both ceremony and law were further cemented during the 40-minute service.

“Those revolutions led to our constitutional freedoms that set up the foundation for a stable monarchy which protects liberty,” said Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the Commons.

He referred to the monarchy being a “measure of stability in an everchanging world”. Then, in condolence for the king’s loss, he said: “Deep is our grievance, we know yours is deeper.”

As King Charles listened, one hand shifted from the throne’s arm on to his lap and back again as he settled into becoming accustomed to being enthroned, sat before the most senior ranks of his subjects.

The queen consort, dressed in black, remained resolutely upright as those in Westminster Hall, along with an international audience of millions, listened to the king’s speech.

“As I stand before you today, I cannot help but feel the weight of history that surrounds us and which reminds us of the vital parliamentary traditions to which members of both houses dedicate yourselves, with such personal commitment, for the betterment of us all,” he said.

The Yeomen of the Guard march in before the arrival of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla at Westminster Hall, London, on Monday. PA
The Yeomen of the Guard march in before the arrival of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla at Westminster Hall, London, on Monday. PA

The words of condolence “so touchingly encompass” what his “beloved mother meant to us all”.

The great, decorative, hammerbeam roof of Westminster Hall was once called “the greatest creation of medieval timber architecture” and its scale matched the regal nature of the occasion.

Queen Elizabeth was only 25 when she came to the throne, pledging to maintain a constitutional government. “This vow she kept with unsurpassed devotion,” said the king, 73. “Which, with God's help and your counsels, I am resolved faithfully to follow.”

In tribute to his mother, he said: “As Shakespeare said of the earlier Queen Elizabeth — 'she was a pattern to all princes living'.”

The addresses by both the Lords and Commons are an essential part to Britain’s transition of power from queen to king. Each expresses condolence for the dead sovereign before pledging loyalty to the new monarch.

After each address was read it was formally presented to King Charles, who briefly held the documents before handing them to his kilted equerry, Maj Johnny Thompson.

The Lord Speaker, Baron Mcfall of Alcluith, led the first address and instantly captured the mood of those assembled and beyond the thick medieval walls.

The addresses are an essential part of Britain’s transition of power from queen to king. AFP
The addresses are an essential part of Britain’s transition of power from queen to king. AFP

The queen had appeared indestructible and “we and the nation have closed our eyes to this inevitability” of her passing, he said, and her people now felt “a sense of loss beyond measure”.

That loss will become increasingly evident in the coming days.

As the crowds of Lords, Cabinet members, current and former prime ministers drifted out of the hall, with a sense of reverence in an act of history witnessed, yellow-jacketed workers entered. Within a day, they will have erected the catafalque on which the queen’s coffin will be placed.

Then queues measuring more than eight kilometres will form as up to 500,000 of Queen Elizabeth II’s subjects enter the hall of monarchs to say their last goodbyes.

King Charles III through the years – in pictures

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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

The Details

Kabir Singh

Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series

Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa

Rating: 2.5/5 

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The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Saturday

Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm kick-off UAE)

Bayer Leverkusen v Schalke (5.30pm)

Wolfsburg v Cologne (5.30pm)

Mainz v Arminia Bielefeld (5.30pm)

Augsburg v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)

RB Leipzig v Bayern Munich (8.30pm)

Borussia Monchengladbach v Freiburg (10.30pm)

Sunday

VfB Stuttgart v Werder Bremen  (5.30pm)

Union Berlin v Hertha Berlin (8pm)

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RESULTS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E6pm%3A%20Baniyas%20%E2%80%93%20Group%202%20(PA)%20Dh97%2C500%20(Dirt)%201%2C400m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20AF%20Alajaj%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%20(jockey)%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%20(trainer)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E6.35pm%3A%20The%20Pointe%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh82%2C500%20(D)%201%2C200m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Awasef%2C%20Pat%20Dobbs%2C%20Doug%20Watson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.10pm%3A%20Palm%20West%20Beach%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh82%2C500%20(D)%201%2C400m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Long%20Kiss%2C%20Jose%20da%20Silva%2C%20Antonio%20Cintra%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.45pm%3A%20The%20View%20at%20the%20Palm%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh87%2C500%20(D)%201%2C200m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Ranaan%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Bhupat%20Seemar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E8.20pm%3A%20Nakheel%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh105%2C000%20(D)%201%2C400m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Raaeb%2C%20Antonio%20Fresu%2C%20Musabah%20Al%20Muhairi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E8.55pm%3A%20The%20Club%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh95%2C000%20(D)%201%2C900m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Qareeb%2C%20Sam%20Hitchcock%2C%20Doug%20Watson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E9.30pm%3A%20Palm%20Beach%20Towers%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh87%2C500%20(D)%201%2C600m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Falsehood%2C%20Adrie%20de%20Vries%2C%20Musabah%20Al%20Muhairi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
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  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
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  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
 
  • Grade 9 = above an A*
  • Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
  • Grade 7 = grade A
  • Grade 6 = just above a grade B
  • Grade 5 = between grades B and C
  • Grade 4 = grade C
  • Grade 3 = between grades D and E
  • Grade 2 = between grades E and F
  • Grade 1 = between grades F and G
SPECS
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Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

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Padmaavat

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh

3.5/5

Persuasion
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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

The%20specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key recommendations
  • Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
  • Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
  • Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
  • More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
Updated: September 12, 2022, 1:55 PM`