Charles Pledges to Follow Queen’s Example of Selfless Duty

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III pledged Monday to follow his late mother’s example of “selfless duty” as he addressed lawmakers from both Houses of Parliament in London before he was to fly to Edinburgh to be with the late Queen’s coffin as it lies at rest in the Scottish capital.

Earlier, Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson Prince Harry hailed her as a “guiding compass” and praised her “unwavering grace and dignity.”

Hundreds of lawmakers crowded into the 1,000-year-old Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament for the service, rich in pageantry, in which Parliament offered its condolences to the King, and he replied.

Charles told members of the House of Commons and House of Lords that he would follow his late mother Queen Elizabeth II in upholding “the precious principles of constitutional governance” that underpin the U.K.’s political system.

The hall, with its magnificent hammer-beam roof, is the oldest part of the parliamentary complex — a remnant of the medieval Palace of Westminster that once stood on the site.

The ceremony was held in Westminster Hall because monarchs are not allowed inside the House of Commons. That rule dates from the 17th century, when King Charles I tried to enter and arrest lawmakers. That confrontation between Crown and Parliament led to a civil war that ended with the King being beheaded in 1649.

The national outpouring of grief continued Sunday as thousands of people lined streets and roadsides as the coffin was borne from the late Queen’s beloved Balmoral Castle summer retreat, where she died on Thursday, to Edinburgh.

After visiting Scotland, Charles embarks on a tour of the other nations that make up the United Kingdom — he visits the Northern Ireland capital, Belfast, on Tuesday and Wales on Friday.