King Charles III has marked the second anniversary of his mother Queen Elizabeth II’s death with a church service at the tiny granite Crathie Kirk near Balmoral, Sky News reports.
The monarch, accompanied by Queen Camilla, attended the service where the late Queen was a regular worshipper.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney joined the royal couple. The King, who has been staying at his Aberdeenshire estate in the Highlands where his mother peacefully passed away at the age of 96 on September 8, 2022, faced a challenging second year as sovereign following his own cancer diagnosis and that of his daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales.
Among the well-wishers who gathered to see the King was Diane Brandish, a tourist from Christchurch, New Zealand. She described catching sight of the King as an unexpected “bonus” on her holiday and remarked that “he was very gracious”.
“We happened to be coming by and I didn’t realize that King Charles would be here,” she said. “Most people in New Zealand follow the royal family quite closely and are aware of the anniversary.”
Meanwhile, the Royal Family’s official social media account posted a photograph on X of the late Queen smiling happily at a summer Buckingham Palace garden party in 2019. The image appeared alongside the words: “Remembering Queen Elizabeth II, 1926-2022.” Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to the Queen, hailing “70 glorious years of her reign.”
Accession Day is a significant time for the King, as it marks both the historic start of his reign as Charles III and the loss of his mother.
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