King Charles tells prime minister Queen’s death was ‘the moment I have been dreading’

King Charles III told Liz Truss his mother’s death was “the moment I have been dreading,” as he held his first audience with prime minister at Buckingham Palace.

Ms Truss spoke briefly to the King by phone on Thursday evening to express her condolences over the death of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

But this was the first time the prime minister had spoken to him face-to-face since he became King on the death of his mother.

The PM, who took office only on Tuesday, was driven from Downing Street to meet Charles following his return to London from Balmoral.

Wearing a plain black dress, she was welcomed by the King who shook her hand at the first of what will be their regular weekly encounters.

As she offered her condolences, Charles thanked her and said: “You are very kind for coming - I know how busy you are.”

He added: “But it’s been so touching this afternoon when we arrived here, all those people come to give their condolences.”

Ms Truss again repeated: “Your Majesty, my very greatest sympathies.”

The King replied: “You are very kind. It was the moment I have been dreading, as I know a lot of people have. We’ll try keep everything going. Come, come have a seat.”

Earlier, Ms Truss led tributes in the House of Commons to the Queen as she urged the country to support their new monarch.

She told MPs the King “bears an awesome responsibility that he now carries for all of us”, adding: “Even as he mourns, his sense of duty and service is clear.”

Throughout her reign, Elizabeth II held weekly audiences with her 14 previous prime ministers, mostly in person at the Palace but sometimes by phone, as during the Covid pandemic.

Their discussions are kept rigorously private, but previous PMs have remarked how impressed they were by the late Queen’s grasp of current affairs and the detailed knowledge she displayed of topical issues.

Under the UK’s constitutional arrangements, although the Queen remains politically neutral on all matters, she is able to “advise and warn” her ministers – including the prime minister - when necessary.

Former PM Theresa May today recalled her experience of audiences with the Queen, telling MPs: “These were not meetings with a high and mighty monarch, but a conversation with a woman of experience and knowledge and immense wisdom.

“They were also the one meeting I went to, which I knew it would not be briefed out to the media.”

The comment was met with laughter by MPs, before Mrs May added: “What made those audiences so special was the understanding the Queen had of issues which came from the work she put into her red boxes, combined with her years of experience.”

It is believed that the regular weekly meetings will continue under Charles’s rule.

Ms Truss gave a reading from the Bible at Friday evening’s service of thanksgiving for the Queen’s life at St Paul’s Cathedral, and will on Saturday take part in an Accession Council to proclaim the succession of Charles to the throne.