LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s King Charles shook hands with dozens of members of the public outside Buckingham Palace on Friday, as emotional well-wishers snapped pictures and greeted the new monarch following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth on Thursday.
Charles and his wife Camilla, Queen Consort, stepped out of the royal car just outside the gates of Buckingham Palace in an unanticipated gesture as they arrived back in London from Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where the queen died.
The couple, dressed in black, were received by huge cheers and applause from a crowd of hundreds gathered outside the palace, television footage showed.
The king proceeded to shake hands with dozens of well-wishers and look at floral tributes to his mother for more than ten minutes. Several members of the public sang “God save the King” and one shouted “Love you Charles!”
One woman kissed Charles’ hand, while another leaned over the security barrier to hug him and kiss his cheek. Several told him they were sorry for his loss, and he thanked them.
People gathered outside the palace pointed their phone cameras at Charles as he walked past, flanked by security personnel. One security officer asked people to put their phones down as the king approached and simply enjoy the moment.
Charles and Camilla then walked through the gates of the palace.
(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, writing by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James)
