In Pictures: King addresses MPs and Lords as crowds gather for coffin procession

Charles spoke movingly of tributes and monuments to his mother inside the Palace of Westminster – and of feeling the ‘weight of history’.

The King promised “faithfully to follow” the example of his mother in a speech in Westminster Hall as both Houses of Parliament gathered to express their condolence to the new monarch.

The ceremony in London came as crowds began to gather in Edinburgh ahead of the procession of the Queen’s coffin from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral.

King Charles III and the Queen Consort leave Clarence House for Westminster Hall (Gareth Fuller/PA)

King Charles III and the Queen Consort pass the The Elizabeth Tower, also known as Big Ben, on their journey to Westminster Hall — The King and Queen Consort pass the The Elizabeth Tower, also known as Big Ben, on their journey to Westminster Hall (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

In a short response inside the hall after a formal expression of condolence from MPs and peers, the new King quoted Shakespeare as he spoke movingly of tributes and monuments to his mother inside the Palace of Westminster and spoke of feeling the “weight of history” as he stood inside the historic room.

Queen Elizabeth II death — Prime Minister Liz Truss and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer joined fellow party leaders and MPs and peers under the cavernous timber roof of the ancient building in central London (Joe Giddens/PA)

Later in the evening, the King and other members of his family, likely his siblings, will hold a vigil at the cathedral in honour of the Queen.

People gather outside St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh ahead of the procession of Queen Elizabeth’s coffin from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to the cathedral (Peter Byrne/PA)

Members of the public will be able to view the coffin to pay their respects for 24 hours before it is taken to London to lie in state (Peter Byrne/PA)

Flowers left in St James’s Park, London (James Manning/PA)