King Charles III delivers first address as UK sovereign

In his first public address as the United Kingdom's monarch, King Charles III paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II and vowed to serve the people of his nation as she did.

Charles automatically succeeded Queen Elizabeth II as the country's sovereign upon her death at 96 on Thursday. She had reigned for 70 years and was the longest serving monarch in the country's history.

"Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived, a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing," he said, according to a transcript of the speech from Town and Country Magazine. "That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today."

"I pay tribute to my Mother’s memory and I honor her life of service," he continued. "I know that her death brings great sadness to so many of you and I share that sense of loss, beyond measure, with you all."

"When The Queen came to the throne, Britain and the world were still coping with the privations and aftermath of the Second World War, and still living by the conventions of earlier times," the king went on. "In the course of the last seventy years we have seen our society become one of many cultures and many faiths. The institutions of the State have changed in turn."

"Our values have remained, and must remain, constant," he then asserted.

The new sovereign then spoke to the responsibilities of his office and signaled that his Christian faith would be a guiding force for his reign. The British monarch is head of the Church of England.

"As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the Constitutional principles at the heart of our nation," he said.

Charles then named his son William the new Prince of Wales, passing on the title he had held for decades. He then thanked his mother on a personal level for her role in his life and her service to the Commonwealth.

"And to my darling Mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: thank you." he said. "Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years."

The king then paid final tribute to his mother, referencing the iconic death scene from Shakespeare's "Hamlet," saying "may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."