King Charles has made an emotional tribute to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II who passed away peacefully at the age of 96 in Scotland this September.
As Britain’s longest serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth made history, sitting on the throne for an incredibly impressive 70 years and 214 days, of which she celebrated at her Platinum Jubilee in February 2022 a mere seven months before her death.
And now this week, as our newly minted (but yet to be coronated) monarch prepares for his first Christmas address, Charles has commemorated his mother’s extraordinary life in an emotional display as he returned to Westminster Hall, where the late monarch lays in state.
The plaque is the first time a reigning monarch has paid tribute to a former one.
(IMAGE: Getty)The mood was sombre as King Charles unveiled a plaque where Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin was displayed to the public alongside similar memorials to previous British monarchs, including the late Queen’s father George VI and her grandfather.
Applause rang out as the crowd of gathered officials – including but not limited to the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer – commemorated the occasion, the first time of which a reigning monarch has ever unveiled a tribute to their predecessor.
After her death, the United Kingdom observed a national mourning period of 10 days, the Queen laying in state at Westminster Hall from the 14th to the 10th of September.
During this time an estimate 250,000 people from across the world queued to pay their respects, lining up in the wind, rain, scorching sun and overnight.
More than 200,000 people paid their tributes to the Queen as she lay in state at Mestminster Hall in September 2022.
(IMAGE: Getty)The Lord Speaker, Lord Alcluith, said that it had been the ”biggest privilege” of his life to help ensure members of the general public could pay their respects to the Queen as he spoke to the new monarch after the plaque was unveiled.
Charles asked: ”Did you have to usher them [the queuing public] away in the end? There were more than 200,000 in the end. Remarkable.”
To which Lord Alcluith replied: ”I was here the whole time. Lindsay [Hoyle] and I are the key holders to Westminster Hall and were here from beginning to end. What an honour.
”It was one of the most complex organisational tasks and the staff were absolutely fantastic.”
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