Charles III officially proclaimed king

After a lifetime's apprenticeship, Charles was formally proclaimed king in a ceremony filled with the kind of pomp the UK does so well.

A court official wearing a feathered bicorn hat declared the 73-year-old "our only lawful and rightful" monarch from the balcony of St James's Palace in London.

"I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty, which have now passed to me," Charles said in a speech before swearing an oath.

"In taking up these responsibilities, I shall strive to follow the inspiring example I have set."

William, the heir to the throne whose wife Kate takes Diana's old title of Princess of Wales, said he would honour the queen "by supporting my father, the king, in every way I can".

Charles automatically became monarch when the queen died, but the proclamation was the latest step in the set piece 10-day programme building up to her state funeral.

Since the queen died, crowds have massed and left flowers, cards and candles outside the royal residences from Buckingham Palace to Windsor and Balmoral, the Scottish estate where the queen died.

Thousands more expected to line the streets in Scotland when the queen's coffin begins its journey to London.

The constitutional monarch, who is supposed to remain outside politics, has intimated he will now steer clear of pronouncements on issues that he has previously been outspoken on such as climate change.