King Charles III held his first in-person audience with the British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, earlier today at Buckingham Palace.
Liz Truss is The King’s first Prime Minister. She came into power earlier this week, when The Queen greeted her at Balmoral, meaning the pair are both in new jobs.
Their first encounter was caught on camera by reporters.
After she gave a curtsey and shook hands with Charles, Truss was promised by the new King he would not ‘take up too much of your time’.
Charles told her it had been ‘so touching’ to see the crowds of well-wishers and mourners when he arrived at the palace earlier. The King and Queen Consort saw the tributes and flowers that the public had left at the gates of Buckingham Palace.
The King has held the first of his weekly audiences with Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace.
The details of their meeting and what was discussed will, as always, remain private between the pair.https://t.co/bdb9lI0VPE pic.twitter.com/NO0w59eIT2
— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) September 9, 2022
Ms Truss offered her ‘very sincere condolences’, to which the new Monarch replied saying that it was ‘very kind’.
King Charles III expressed an expression of sadness by stating the death of his mother was ‘a moment I’ve been dreading, as I know a lot of people have’.
He stated to the new Prime Minister that he would ‘try and keep everything going’.
A key constitutional duty of The King is to hold weekly audiences with the UK Prime Minister, a role Charles now has to carry out.
The Prime Minister made a speech outside 10 Downing Street yesterday following the announcement of the Queen’s death.
She said ‘Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built. Our country has grown and flourished under her reign. Britain is the great country it is today because of her’.
In her speech, Ms Truss noted how ‘she championed the development of the Commonwealth – from a small group of seven countries to a family of 56 nations spanning every continent of the world’ and in turn ‘we are now a modern, thriving, dynamic nation’.