In pictures: King Charles III's first visit to Wales as monarch
- Published
King Charles III has made his first visit to Wales as King
Families, furry friends and protestors have all turned out to meet King Charles III on his first official visit to Wales as monarch.
The King, along with Camilla, the Queen Consort, attended a service in Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, visited the Senedd and greeted crowds at Cardiff Castle.
Crowds had been gathering since the early hours to catch a glimpse of the former Prince of Wales.
One child dressed up as a member of the royal guard
King Charles III spoke to the crowd of all ages
Mark Drakeford, Elin Jones, Liz Truss and Sir Robert Buckland in LLandaff Cathedral
First Minister Mark Drakeford gave a reading inside Llandaff Cathedral
And it wasn't just humans who joined the crowds in the Welsh capital.
These two Jack Russell terriers were certainly dressed for the occasion
Deb brought her two Jack Russell terriers down to Llandaff Cathedral to see the King in their finest attire.
She said: "He was speaking to all the children, which was beautiful and I never thought he'd come over to me.
"He came over and said 'I want to see the dogs' and asked their names. Camilla said 'I love Jack Russells' and said she's got two.
"She overwhelmed me, she's incredible. We're gonna have some Champagne to celebrate meeting the king."
At just seven months old, corgi Gelert might have been one of the youngest in the crowds
King Charles III met the public before leaving Cardiff Castle
Children waved Union Jacks and the Welsh flag at Cardiff Castle
Schoolchildren cheer ahead of the King's arrival
Twins Jack, pictured left, and Andrew have been given time off school by their headteacher to see the King
Claire, 47, has travelled with twin sons Jack and Andrew, 8, from Flintshire. They got the train at 04:22 BST.
Claire said: "It's a part of history, and I wanted to bring the boys to be a part of that because it won't happen again. Their head teacher gave them a day off.
"It's a sad occasion. [King Charles] has waited his whole life for this, but it's still really sad. I hope he will be a good King, we'll just have to wait and see."
Some donned their own crowns for the festivities in Cardiff
King Charles as he was welcomed to the service of prayer and reflection at Llandaff Cathedral
Crowds held flowers ready to give to the King
Aptly named Queenie is with mum Jane outside Llandaff Cathedral to see the King
Elaine Rhys, 83, from Ynysybwl, met the Queen a few years ago at a garden party
Elaine Rhys, 83, Ynysybwl, Rhondda Cynon Taf, said: "I'm very fond of the royal family and I just had to be here today to welcome our new king. I can't wait to see him."
She said she met the Queen a few years ago at a garden party.
"It's been very sad, I've had a few tears," added Elaine.
Although most people were excited to welcome the new King, some had a different message, with one protestor among a number of anti-monarchists holding up a placard reading "abolish the monarchy".
Not everyone came down to support the new monarch
Mike and Justine Tone, from near Windsor in Berkshire, were at the Senedd despite having a chance to pay their respects far closer to home.
Mike, 67, said: "We live near Windsor and went down to lay flowers and will go down again Monday.
"We happened to be here by chance as we went to see Liam Gallagher in Cardiff last night so thought we should come."
Justine, 56, believed King Charles would be outspoken about issues such as climate change.
Mike and Justine Tone think the new King will be more outspoken on climate change
Anna Matjila moved from South Africa to Wales 20 years ago and says she wants to "welcome him as King from prince"
Crowds are waiting patiently for the new King to arrive
Grace said she felt really excited and really pleased that she got the opportunity to meet the king
Two young pupils from Ysgol y Wern in Cardiff, both called Grace, got the chance to see the King.
The first said: "He walked past and he talked a bit and then he laughed and carried on walking and shook hands with everyone. He was talking to my teacher and was looking at everyone he was passing.
"I felt really excited and I felt really pleased that I got this opportunity to meet the King."
The other said: "I didn't really expect for him to talk to us.
"He asked about exams and if we have a lot of homework and he asked if we have to go back to school and I said yes because we do have to."
Osian joked that he was selected to give the King flowers because he was "the oldest and the tallest"
Osian, 11, from Ysgol Hamadryad in Cardiff Bay, was selected to hand the new King a posy of flowers as he welcomed him with the rest of his school.
He said: "It was really exciting but I was a bit nervous. I had to wait for ages as he talked to a lot of people."
Tegan Skyrme, from Pembrokeshire, said the King asked her about her role in the Welsh Youth Parliament and asked about her work supporting people with learning disabilities.
"The King was talkative and he put all of us at ease. It was a huge honour to be selected to attend such a momentous occasion in history," she said.
The Queen Consort leaving Cardiff castle
Crowds awaiting the arrival of the King at Cardiff Castle
- Published16 September 2022
- Published16 September 2022
- Published16 September 2022
