Politician Paul O'Kane passed on his constituents' condolences when he had a short conversation with King Charles III outside the Scottish Parliament.
Paul met the monarch, who was at Holyrood on Monday to hear a motion of condolence, with leading politicians paying tribute following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Paul said: “It was truly a momentous day and very solemn. Scotland was playing its role in saying goodbye to the Queen, but also welcoming the new King.
"As parliamentarians, we were playing a key role in the motion of condolence.
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“There was an opportunity to speak to the King and I had a chance to speak to him. The one thing that I really wanted to do was pass on the condolences of the people I represent in the West of Scotland and let him know that there has been real respect for his mother and sadness of her passing.
“It was also an opportunity to allow him to assess how important the Scottish Parliament was to the Queen and how important it will be to him.”
The Labour West Scotland MSP said meeting the new King, so early in his new role, felt like “personally, a historic moment”.
Paul had been in the company of the late Queen Elizabeth many times but never had the honour of having a conversion with her.
He added: “The King was very pleasant to speak to as it was a very warm and genuine conversation. When speaking about the parliament, he really expressed the importance of the parliament to him and his family.
“When I spoke to him about others passing on their condolences, he was really assured and felt supported that many people were sharing the grief with him.
“He was very grateful to everyone who passed on their messages of condolences, you could see that it meant a lot to him.
“The length and breadth of the tributes to The Queen showed how respected she was that would have been of great comfort to the family.”
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