Cabinet ministers will meet King Charles III for the first time on Saturday, days after Liz Truss formed her new government.
Charles was formally proclaimed King at an accession council in an ancient ceremony at St James’s Palace, which was televised for the first time.
Senior government ministers were in attendance before travelling to Buckingham Palace for an audience with the new monarch.
The new prime minister was invited to form a government by the late Queen on Tuesday and had her first audience with King Charles III on Friday.
She curtsied somewhat awkwardly – as has been derided on social media – during what was the first of their regular weekly meetings.
The prime minister offered condolences and shook the King’s hand. He told her: “You are very kind for coming – I know how busy you are.”
He added: “But it’s been so touching this afternoon when we arrived here, all those people come to give their condolences.”
Truss repeated: “Your Majesty, my very greatest sympathies.”
He replied: “You are very kind. It was the moment I have been dreading, as I know a lot of people have. We’ll try to keep everything going. Come, come have a seat.”
The accession council was be followed by the principal proclamation, the first public proclamation of the new sovereign, held at 11am.
It was read by the garter king of arms in the open air to a trumpet fanfare from the Friary Court balcony at St James’s, with gun salutes fired in Hyde Park and at the Tower of London.
A second proclamation at the Royal Exchange in the City of London will be read one hour later, at noon. Separate proclamations will be read in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at noon on Sunday.
In his first speech to the nation, Charles spoke of the “roles and duties of monarchy” and the sovereign’s relationship with the Church of England.
“I have been brought up to cherish a sense of duty to others, and to hold in the greatest respect the precious traditions, freedoms and responsibilities of our unique history and our system of parliamentary government,” he said.
“As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.”
