King Charles arrived at Buckingham Palace for the first time as monarch and met with some of his subjects waiting outside, as the crowd hailed God Save the King.
The former Prince of Wales became the new sovereign as soon as his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died yesterday afternoon at the age of 96.
In a whirlwind 24 hours Charles and the rest of the family rushed to Balmoral to be at her bedside before her sad passing.
With little time to adapt to the new role, the 73-year-old has returned to London arriving from Aberdeen.
But before heading inside Buckingham Palace he took a leaf out of his late mother's book and stopped to greet and shake the hands of several people waiting outside.
Incredible video shot this afternoon showed King Charles arriving in a blacked out vehicle and surrounded by security teams.
Dressed in a solemn black suit and tie, as the country is officially in mourning, he followed the Queen Consort out of the car before making his way to the waiting public.
Many well-wishers cheered as he and wife Camilla, now the Queen Consort, exited their vehicle.
As people craned to see him and shot videos on their phones, he slowly made his way along the line and shook several people’s hands and waved at others, many of whom shared their condolences for the loss of his mother.
As he smiled at many, several people called out God Save the King.
He is heard thanking all those he greets for coming out and for their kind concern in his time of mourning.
The surprise address is the first time the new king has been heard talking since the death of the Queen on Thursday in the royal family’s Scottish home.
After meeting his people, the king will meet new Prime Minister Liz Truss this afternoon, days after she was confirmed in the role by his mother.
Charles is also likely to meet the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, who is in charge of the accession and the Queen’s funeral, to approve the carefully choreographed schedule for the coming days.
He is due to give a public address to the nation tonight at 6pm.
A plane carrying the King and Queen Consort left Aberdeen International Airport at around 12.30pm this afternoon for London.
Earlier, Buckingham Palace confirmed a period of royal mourning will be observed from now until seven days after the Queen’s funeral, the date of which will be confirmed in due course.
At 1pm today, gun salutes – one round for every year of the Queen’s life – were fired in London’s Hyde Park and at other locations in her honour.
Yesterday the King said in a statement: “The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family.
“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother.
“I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.
“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.”
