Standing at a gilded lectern beneath the medieval timber ceiling of Westminster Hall, King Charles III addressed both houses of Parliament for the first time as sovereign and head of state of the United Kingdom on Monday, referencing “the weight of history which surrounds us” and commending Parliament as “the living and breathing instrument of our democracy,” The Washington Post reports.
The ceremony was an important one in cementing the relationship between the king and the Parliament, where true power lies in Britain’s constitutional monarchy.
The new king said he was “deeply grateful” for the condolences — given by the speakers of the House of Commons and House of Lords — which “so touchingly encompass what our late sovereign, my beloved mother, the queen meant to us all.”
He promised to “faithfully follow” his mother’s “example of selfless duty.”
“As Shakespeare says of the earlier Queen Elizabeth, she was ‘a pattern to all princes living,’ ” said the king, who was wearing a black morning coat with tails, a black waistcoat and gray pinstriped trousers.
Charles has attended the ceremonial State Opening of Parliament alongside his mother on multiple occasions. For the last opening, in May, he presided alone — although reading “the queen’s speech.”
On Monday, his words were his own.
About 900 Lords and members of Parliament were in attendance to watch the address in Westminster Hall, built in 1097.
Monarchs are not allowed into the House of Commons at Westminster — a tradition dating back to the 16th century, when King Charles I tried to break in and cause chaos.
