Britain’s new monarch, King Charles III, is mourning the loss of Queen Elizabeth II, who he Thursday described as a “cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother” that would be missed around the world.
Charles, 73, ascended the throne following his mother’s 70-year reign.
“The death of my beloved mother, her majesty the queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” he said in a statement issued by Buckingham Palace.
“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world,” he said.
“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the queen was so widely held.”
Elizabeth, the United Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarch, died on Thursday at the age of 96, two days after appointing Liz Truss as the new Prime Minister of Britain.
In Buckingham Palace’s official statement announcing her death, her eldest son was named the new King of England.
