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BALLATER, United Kingdom: Ceremonial gun salutes were heard across the United Kingdom on Friday to mark the accession of King Charles III, as he paid tribute to his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on the first anniversary of her death.
An opening salvo of 41 shots echoed through London’s Hyde Park, followed by a salvo of 62 shots from the Tower of London, a historic royal palace on the banks of the River Thames.
Guns were also fired from Edinburgh Castle in the Scottish capital, Cardiff Castle in Wales and Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland.
Commemorations of the queen’s death were low-key, and the king, who is based at his sprawling Balmoral estate in the Scottish Highlands, was not expected to attend any official engagements.
In a brief statement, the 74-year-old British head of state recalled his “great affection” for his mother, her life and her public service.
“I am also deeply grateful for the love and support you have shown my wife and me this year as we do everything we can to be of service to all of you,” he added.
He and his wife Camilla attended Crathie Kirk, the late monarch’s place of worship near Balmoral, for private prayers and a moment of reflection.
Church of Scotland minister Kenneth Mackenzie said afterwards that the service was “a simple moment of reflection”.
“We were able to give thanks for the Queen’s life and recognize the significance of this day to her family and this community, as well as to the nation and the Commonwealth,” he added.
Charles, dressed in a red kilt, spoke to supporters outside the church after the event.
“I saw the funeral procession go by last year, it’s a sad day for everyone,” Ross Nichol, a 22-year-old student from nearby Ballater, told AFP.
“He did a lot of good things and had prestige in the world,” added German tourist Nicole Hoppe.
“We feel a little sad and sentimental for her.”
The Queen, who was on the throne for a record 70 years, died on September 8, 2022 at Balmoral at the age of 96 after a period of declining health.
Flowers were left at the gates of Balmoral, while crowds gathered at Buckingham Palace and floral tributes were also left.
During her reign, the Queen did not publicly celebrate her accession, as it was also the anniversary of the death of her own father, King George VI, in 1952.
Elsewhere, the king’s eldest son and heir, Prince William, and his wife, Catherine, attended a small private service at St. David’s Cathedral in west Wales.
The couple previously posted a message on social media platform X, which read: “Today we remember the extraordinary life and legacy of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth. All of us miss you. “Toilet.”
William’s younger brother, Prince Harry, was in the UK for a charity event and was seen on Friday visiting his grandmother’s final resting place at Windsor Castle, west of London.
“She’s looking at all of us tonight, happy that we’re together,” he said at the event Thursday night.
Elizabeth II’s death was a seismic event in British life. To most Britons alive, the Queen was the only monarch and head of state they had ever known.
During the official 10-day mourning period, tens of thousands of people queued for up to 25 hours to walk past his flag-draped coffin as he lay in Westminster Hall of the Houses of Parliament.
Still more packed the streets of London and the route west to Windsor Castle for the state funeral, which was broadcast around the world before a television audience of millions.
One of the lasting images was his two corgi dogs, Muick and Sandy, awaiting his coffin in Windsor.
The late Queen’s former daughter-in-law Sarah, Duchess of York, said on Friday they were “thriving” under her care.
The queen was buried in King George VI Memorial Chapel, Windsor, alongside her late husband Prince Philip, who died in 2021, her father and mother and the ashes of her younger sister, Princess Margaret.
Earlier this week, the government announced that a national memorial to the late monarch would be commissioned “in due course”.
Opinions were mixed in London on Thursday about Charles’ first year.
Some felt that he had done well not to introduce radical reform too soon.
“She has a difficult task to follow, but I think she will change things,” Joanne Hughes, 61, told AFP outside Buckingham Palace.
Others were indifferent to the new king and the monarchy in general.
“The monarchy is dying,” said nursing student Mimi Jaffer-Clarke.
“If you want him not to die, then you need to try to please the younger generation, and we just don’t.”