good evening, tonight in a special programme, we are marking the passing of that crown. elizabeth ii to charles iii. what kind of modric will he be? how will he lead the nation through this period of enormous change? i will talk to people who know him well to get their personal insights into the man who is our new king. at six o clock this evening, charles iii addressed the nation and all of us, for the first time as our king, he paid a personal tribute to his mother and pledged to echo her life of duty and service with his own. it was a speech i m told he worked on until the last minute and his determination to get it exactly right. as he talked to us from the desk in the blue drawing room at buckingham palace, where is mother often gave the christmas message, he had carefully placed objects full of meaning around him. such as the flowers, sweet peas with rosemary, for remembrance, and in a vase former queen used in her audience room which has three little corgis on it. ,
it was a profound personal commitment which defined her whole life. she made sacrifices for duty. her dedication and devotion as sovereign never wavered, through times of change and progress, through times ofjoy and celebration and through times of sadness and loss. in her life of service, we saw that abiding love of tradition, together with that fearless embrace of progress which makes us great as nations. the affection, admiration and respect she inspired became the hallmark of her reign. and as every member of my family can testify, she combined these qualities with warmth, humour and an unerring ability always to see the best in people. i pay tribute to my mother s memory, and i honour her life of service. i know that her death brings great sadness to so many of you, and i share that sense of loss beyond measure with you all. when the queen came to the throne, britain and the world were still coping with the privations and aftermath of the second world war and still livin
her reign spanned 15 british prime ministers, 14 american presidents, seven popes, the end of the soviet empire, the decline of her own and its rebirth as modern britain. the people you see there outside buckingham palace and gathering elsewhere as well, windsor castle, have been gathering since this afternoon in the rain on word that the queen in balmoral castle in scotland had been put under medical supervision. the arrival of family members underscored the gravity of the hour and the family s single-minded response to it. the image of two of the queen s sons, prince andrew and edward and prince william at the wheel altogether in the same vehicle. from a sometimes contentious but message conscious family, the message this image sent was clear. then the clouds began lifting, rainbows formed outside buckingham palace and windsor castle. they signalled hope but delivered only sadness a short time later. the news coming in a simple message behind a humble frame in keeping with
and bells will be tolling any moment now and at some places already all across england. i want to bring in now cnn s max foster who is our royal correspondent, senior royal correspondent. max, thank you for joining us. listen, what can we expect today as far as what s going to happen ceremonially and also prince charles is expected to speak as well. bells tolling at westminster ab abbey, st. paul s and westminster. we will be hearing gun salutes as well. you can hear the bells tolling, westminster abbey is very close to us here. let s listen in for a moment. so they take different patterns depending on the event and this will be an extended version basically because it s such a significant event. the bells tolling at st. paul s, there will also be a service later on, the first moment for national figures to reflect on this moment. i think to hear that prince charles has left balmoral, i would expect to see him come here, actually, don. it s not confirmed, but there s flow
god save the king that was an extraordinary moment last hour. the new king, charles iii, shaking hands with the throngs of people that have goth grath gathered to greet himself outside buckingham palace singing the new national anthem god save the king. good morning to viewers here in the united states and around the world. we re so glad you re with us on this day in particular. i m poppy harlow. and i m jim sciutto. they have, in fact, already changed the lyrics, well, less than 24 hours after the passing of queen elizabeth. king charles iii, the new monarch, enters buckingham palace. asked for a period of mourning starting today lasting seven days after the queen s funeral. a sense of loss there. later today st. paul s cathedral in london will hold a service of prayer and reflection. hours from now we will hear from the new king and cnn will bringing that address to his royal subjects when it happens. our reporters and correspondents are covering all of this dev