King Charles III Gives First Address as England's New Monarch, Vows 'Lifelong Service'
King Charles III of the United Kingdom made his first address to the nation as a sovereign monarch Friday after returning to Buckingham Palace in London from his mother’s Balmoral estate in Scotland.
During his televised address, the 73-year-old son of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip the Duke of Edinburgh, memorialized his mother’s history-making 70-year reign.
He opened his address by renewing a promise his mother once gave the British people, “Queen Elizabeth’s was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today,” according to the Telegraph, which published the speech in its entirety.
The new King made particular note of the vow the late Queen took at the age of 21 in 1947.
“She pledged in a broadcast from Cape Town to the Commonwealth to devote her life, whether it be short or long, to the service of her peoples,” the Telegraph reported.
“That was more than a promise: it was a profound personal commitment which defined her whole life. She made sacrifices for duty.”
Charles added, “Her dedication and devotion as Sovereign never waivered, through times of change and progress, through times of joy and celebration, and through times of sadness and loss.”
The British monarch went on to describe the coming changes to his world. “My life will of course change as I take up my new responsibilities. It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply. But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.”
He then pivoted to the changes that will follow in the royal family, with his wife, Duchess Camilla Parker Bowles becoming Queen Consort, and his former titles as Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales passing to his son and eventual heir, Prince William.
Charles added, “With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the centre ground where vital help can be given.”
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, were not left out of the address entirely, but the speech did not indicate that they would be resuming their previous status as working members of the Royal family. King Charles merely said of them, “I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas.”
King Charles announced that the late queen would be laid to rest “In a little over a week’s time,” and he added a few words of a personal nature.
“On behalf of all my family, I can only offer the most sincere and heartfelt thanks for your condolences and support.
“They mean more to me than I can ever possibly express.
“And to my darling Mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: thank you.
“Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years.
“May ‘flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest’.”
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