Britain has changed and also not changed the year since Queen Elizabeth II passed away, aged 96, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022.
Bells were rung at Westminster Abbey at 1pm BST on Friday to mark the occasion.
The transition to a new monarchy under King Charles III has been remarkably smooth.
But politically there has been a radical change. The Queen’s last act two days before she died was to appoint Liz Truss as her 15th and final Prime Minister.
But Truss crashed the economy during her 49 disastrous days in power.
Rishi Sunak, who arrived in Delhi on Friday morning for the G20 summit, made history as Britain’s first non-white Prime Minister.
Before departing for India, Rishi, who is Charles’s first Prime Minister — the king gifted him a box of Diwali mithai — left a message in which he 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.
“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.”
To mark the occasion, Charles has released a photograph that he likes of his mother taken by Cecil Beaton on October 16, 1968, when she was 42.
