King Charles and Camilla greet well-wishers after private church service alongside Princess Margaret’s grandchildren – as royals lead tributes and nation comes together to remember Queen Elizabeth one year on from her death

The King and Queen today attended a special service at Crathie Kirk to commemorate the life of the late Queen Elizabeth – and appeared moved by warm-wishes from crowds who also gathered to mark the anniversary of her death.

Charles and Camilla made the short journey by car from the nearby Balmoral Estate to the Scottish church, where successive monarchs have worshiped since Queen Victoria. 

The couple spoke to crowds outside afterwards who shared their condolences and handed them bouquets and cards. The King told them that the flowers were ‘wonderful’ and joked with children about getting back to school.

Other royals were also at the service, including the Queen’s great nephews Samuel and Arthur Chatto, sons of Lady Sarah and Daniel Chatto, who also went. And staff from Balmoral, the beloved Scottish home of the Queen where she died, also attended, walking to and from the service in the September sunshine. 

The King looked emotional as he left Crathie Kirk having paid a moving tribute to his adored mother as the nation marks the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death today. Crowds gathered at Buckingham Palace and Army gun salutes honouring Her Majesty rang out across the United Kingdom. 

In an unprecedented break with tradition, signifying how touched he has been by the country’s grief at her passing but also pride in a remarkable life of public duty, His Majesty recalled his mother’s ‘long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us’. 

William and Kate have travelled to Wales to grieve Queen Elizabeth’s passing and shared their own favourite pictures of the late monarch and said: ‘Today we remember the extraordinary life and legacy of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth. We all miss you. W & C’. 

Initially Charles, 74, had planned only to mark his mother’s death – and his own grief-tinged accession – in ‘quiet contemplation’ at home in Scotland.

In doing so he would follow the same pattern that Queen Elizabeth chose to adopt for 70 years, marking her father King George VI’s death, at Sandringham in Norfolk, away from public gaze.

But in recent weeks he began to have a change of heart, having been so deeply touched by the global outpouring of grief after his mother died on September 8 last year.

Indeed, the Mail can reveal that the King and Queen Camilla chose last night not to return to their own home at Birkhall on the Balmoral estate as planned, but to remain at the castle itself where Elizabeth died at the age of 96, surrounded by the glory of the Scottish Highlands she adored.

They will remain there today, comforted by some of those who were closest to Her late Majesty, spending tonight there as well, before moving back to their neighbouring estate. A source said: ‘I think it will be of comfort to be surrounded by so much that was familiar to her.’

Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales are to mark the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death with a small private service in Wales. William and Kate will attend St Davids Cathedral in St Davids, the smallest city in Britain, in Pembrokeshire on Friday. They will also meet members of the local community in the adjacent cloister, including local people who met Elizabeth II during her visits to St Davids.

St Davids has been a site of pilgrimage and worship for more than 1,400 years, since St David – the patron saint of Wales – settled there with his monastic community in the sixth century.

Since the Reformation, one of the quire stalls has been in the possession of the Crown and is known as the Sovereign’s Stall. This makes St Davids the only UK cathedral where the sovereign has a special stall in the quire among members of the chapter, the governing body of the cathedral.

His tribute was echoed by that of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said: ‘On the solemn anniversary of the passing of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, our thoughts are with His Majesty King Charles III and the whole Royal Family.

‘With the perspective of a year, the scale of Her late Majesty’s service only seems greater. Her devotion to the nations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth only seems deeper. And our gratitude for such an extraordinary life of duty and dedication only continues to grow.

‘I treasure my memories of those occasions when I met Her late Majesty, in particular the private audience I had with her at Buckingham Palace before presenting my first Budget as Chancellor. I was struck by her wisdom, by her incredible warmth and grace, but also her sharp wit.’

And he spoke for many when he recalled the effect that she had on everyone she met.

‘People across the UK – whether they had the good fortune to meet Her late Majesty or not – will be reflecting today on what she meant to them and the example she set for us all. We will cherish those memories,’ he said.

‘The bond between country and monarch is sacred. It endures. So, while we continue to mourn Her late Majesty’s passing, we should be proud that this remarkable legacy of service – and this remarkable bond – continues to grow today under the reign of His Majesty the King.’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the long queues through the night to see the late Queen lying in state had shown that she ‘always enjoyed a special bond with her people’.

‘It was a relationship built from her understanding that service of this great nation is the thread that unites sovereign and subject,’ he said.

‘So, as we reflect on her legacy again today, let us embrace that spirit of public service as our guide towards a better future.’

Her last prime minister – albeit briefly – Liz Truss, with whom she was so memorably photographed for the final time, also opened up about their encounter.

She described how the frail but ‘upbeat’ and ‘mentally alert’ monarch had told her they would be ‘meeting again soon’. The Queen had welcomed Ms Truss to Balmoral on September 6 to appoint her as prime minister.

‘She was very, very keen to reassure me that we’d be meeting again soon. It was very important to her,’ Ms Truss told GB News.

Ms Truss added: ‘She was very determined to do her duty, right to the end.’

The Queen died two days later, with Ms Truss describing the scene as she waited in Downing Street when the confirmation came at around 4.30pm.

‘We were in the Downing Street flat with, officials, other people. So when the news came through, it was sort of confirming all the worst fears that we’d had,’ she said.

She recalled the King was ‘very, very resolute’ when she spoke to him to express her condolences on the phone the day his mother died and his reign began.

Today, soldiers and horses which took part in the state funeral procession and proclamation salutes signifying the new reign are to return to perform Accession Day anniversary gun salutes in the King’s honour.

Captain Amy Cooper – who was the lead rider in the procession which carried the Queen’s coffin to lie in state in Westminster Hall – will give the order to fire a 41-gun salute at midday in London’s Hyde Park.

Captain Cooper is with the King’s Troop, almost all of whom played a role in the final farewell to the Queen a year ago.

There will also be a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London by The Honourable Artillery Company, while bells will be rung at Westminster Abbey at 1pm in commemoration of the King’s accession.

The Prince and Princess of Wales will be in Wales at St David’s Cathedral where they will commemorate the life of Queen Elizabeth and speak to members of the community she met during her visits to the city.

A source said it was important to William and Kate to be in Wales in honour of their new titles and to honour the bond the late monarch had with the Welsh nation.

A source said King Charles and Queen Camilla will ‘balance between reflecting properly on the public nature of moment but finding the space for privacy to reflect in private’.