By Emily Caulkett-
There were gun salutes in Hyde Park to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles’ accession
Soldiers and horses who took part in Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral procession and proclamation salutes for the start of King Charles’ reign returned for the Accession Day gun anniversary salutes in the King’s honour.
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Captain Amy Cooper, who was the lead rider in the procession that carried the coffin to lie in state in Westminster Hall, gave the order to fire a 41-gun salute at 12 noon in Hyde Park.
There was also a 21-gun salute at the same time at Edinburgh Castle.
Charles and Queen Camilla observed the anniversary at the family estate in Scotland and attended a service of remembrance at a small church nearby, where the late queen worshipped.
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“In marking the first anniversary of her late majesty’s death and my accession, we recall with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us,” Charles said in a recorded message. “I am deeply grateful, too, for the love and support that has been shown to my wife and myself during this year as we do our utmost to be of service to you all.”
Military units commemorated the king’s accession to the throne by firing salutes at the Tower of London on the east side of the capital and Green Park near Buckingham Palace. The bells of Westminster Abbey pealed at 1 p.m.
Heir to the throne Prince William and his wife Catherine attended a commemorative service at St. David’s Cathedral in Wales, while younger brother Prince Harry was photographed by a member of the public leaving St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, the queen’s final resting place.
“I am deeply grateful, too, for the love and support that has been shown to my wife and myself during this year as we do our utmost to be of service to you all,” he added.
The king – who is at his Scottish Highland estate of Balmoral – not expected at any official engagement in today’s low key commemoration.
He and wife Camilla attended nearby Crathie Kirk, the late queen’s place of worship, for private prayers and a moment of reflection.
The King recalled the queen’s “devoted service and all she meant to so many”.
Queen Elizabeth, who was on the throne for a record-breaking 70 years, died at Balmoral aged 96 after a period of declining health.
Throughout her reign, she did not publicly mark her accession, as it was also the anniversary of her own father King George VI’s death in 1952.
In London, the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery marked Charles’s accession by firing a 41-gun ceremonial salute in Hyde Park from 12:00pm (11:00 GMT).
A new photo of the queen was also released Friday to mark the anniversary of her death.
The photo released to the public for the first time, was taken at Buckingham Palace on Oct. 16, 1968, by photographer Cecil Beaton.
Cecil Beaton/ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST/AFP via Getty Images
Members of the Honourable Artillery Company – the oldest regiment in the British Army –fired a 62-gun salute from the Tower of London from 1:00pm (12:00 GMT).
Both regiments were involved in firing the Death Gun salutes to mark the queen’s death, and the Proclamation salutes to mark Charles’s new reign.
The king’s eldest son and heir, Prince William, and his wife, Catherine, will commemorate the anniversary with a small private service at St Davids Cathedral in west Wales.
William and wife and Kate greeted well wishers outside St Davids Cathedral
During the 10-day official mourning period, tens of thousands of people queued for up to 25 hours to file past her flag-shrouded coffin as it lay in state in Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament.
The queen was interred in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, Windsor, alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died in 2021, her father and mother and the ashes of her younger sister, Princess Margaret.
Earlier this week, the government announced that a national memorial to the late monarch will be commissioned in due course.
The Queen held a special place in the hearts of the British people, being the only monarch most had known in their lifetime.
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