‘I couldn’t believe it was the king’: Grief turns to joy as mourners meet new monarch

King Charles III was greeted by well-wishers who kissed him and shook his hand

Mourners were left “flabbergasted” as King Charles III left his official car to greet well-wishers outside Buckingham Palace.

The new monarch arrived in London from Balmoral following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. He later met with the prime minister and made his first address as King.

James Walmsley, from Liverpool, saw King Charles as he greeted the crowd at Buckingham Palace. “If you said 24 hours ago ‘you’re going to see the king’ you’d never believe it but now we’re here,” the trainee teacher told The Independent.