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Formal Accession Of King Charles III Ushers In A New Royal Era; King Greets Mourners At Buckingham Palace, Meets With New U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss; The Commonwealth Memorializes Queen Elizabeth II; Ukrainian Counteroffensive Keeps Up Momentum; Former British Prime Ministers Pay Tribute To Queen Elizabeth. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 10, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Hello and welcome back. I am Becky Anderson at Buckingham Palace for you. It's 6:00 am here in London and a new era in British royal history is now unfolding, with King Charles III to be normally proclaimed the new sovereign in the coming hours.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): On Friday, gun salutes echoed across the country to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II. She died Thursday at the age of 96. On Friday, the new king briefly greeted mourners outside Buckingham Palace and then delivered his first address to the nation as monarch. Have a listen.
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CHARLES III, KING OF ENGLAND: Wherever you may live in the United Kingdom or in the realms and territories across the world and whatever may be your background or beliefs, I shall endeavor to serve you with loyalty, respect and love, as I have throughout my life.
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ANDERSON: Meanwhile, mourners continue expressing their condolences throughout the Commonwealth with growing volumes of flowers and personal messages.
King Charles III may be a grieving son but as the new British monarch there are duties that he must perform. CNN's Bianca Nobilo has more now on his first day as sovereign and what lays ahead in the coming hours.
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BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A kiss of approval for new king. King Charles III, arriving to applause at Buckingham Palace.
Flowers laid just feet away mourning his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The cheers reassuring for a king, who has not always enjoyed the country's full support as Prince of Wales.
Commencing his reign, there was no time to show his personal grief. His first act, to greet and reassure his subjects, an early hint of his sovereign style.
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KING CHARLES: And wherever you may live in the United Kingdom or in the realms and territories across the world and whatever may be your background or beliefs, I shall endeavor to serve you with loyalty, respect and love, as I have throughout my life.
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NOBLES (voice-over): A new era of the British crown begins, as the world grieves the late queen. The first day of royal mourning in the U.K., which will last until seven days after the funeral, is one of deep remembrance.
The other new leader, British prime minister Liz Truss, just four days into her role, met with the new king and led tributes in the House of Commons.
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LIZ TRUSS, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: Her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II was one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known. She was the rock on which modern Britain was built. We need that courage now. In an instant yesterday, our lives changed forever. Today, we show the world that we do not fear what lies ahead.
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NOBLES (voice-over): Truss also attended the first service for the British public at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Members of the royal family are back in England to prepare for King Charles III's accession ceremony on Saturday.
The burden is heavy. King Charles III faces rising Republicanism, the task of consolidating the monarchy in the modern age and carving his own identity in the long shadow of his much beloved mother -- Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.
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CNN's Nic Robertson is at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where the queen died peacefully on Thursday.
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ANDERSON: An awful lot of what could be described as pomp and circumstance, I guess, in the days to come following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. As one newspaper headlines it today, with an oath and a declaration at an ancient summit, Charles will officially become king.
Just explain what we can expect next.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There's a lot of, if you will, pomp and circumstance, as you say, the firing of guns today, a salute to the queen happening in sort of all four corners of the kingdom, Cardiff Castle in Wales, Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland and Hyde Park in London.
But there is as well the constitutional buttoning-up of the monarchy. King Charles became King Charles as soon as the queen died but today is the Accession Council that will meet to formally approve, appoint, anoint King Charles as King Charles.
And then an official proclamation, a verbal proclamation is made, very much in keeping with history, something -- a formula of words that has been passed down for generations upon generations of monarchs.
So that is the sort of constitutional buttoning-up but the constitutional buttoning-up as well in the monarch's relationship with the Church of England. He will be meeting with the art Archbishop of Canterbury today.
These are all things that put in place the connections, as he did yesterday, meeting with the prime minister, Liz Truss, the connections are the way the monarch connects with the realm. A lot of this to come, as you say.
ANDERSON: The funeral we know will be within the next 10 to 14 days. The details aren't -- haven't been made public yet. We do know that Joe Biden, the U.S. President, will be attending; he said as much yesterday.
Do you expect this to be an event which will see people, leaders from around the world, coming here to the U.K. to pay their respects?
ROBERTSON: I think absolutely. Those countries that have had long and historic connections with the United Kingdom -- the United States, of course, breaking away several centuries ago -- but those parts of the Commonwealth, we will expect to see their leaders here, Australia and New Zealand, Canada.
The European countries that have so much been part and partnership with the United Kingdom, in that era that where the queen was monarch, the post-World War II era, the sort of rebuilding of Europe after the terrible world wars.
So those leaders I think we will see here, of course, there are contentions and tensions, not least with Russia and also China. Not clear and certainly no one would expect Vladimir Putin to show up at a funeral and it would seem -- that's off the table.
Will the Chinese send a representative? Certainly we heard warm words from President Xi about the queen and
the queen was the first British monarch to visit China and that was back in 1986. So these historic connections that she has with these different nations -- the queen visited as head of state over 100 different countries during her reign.
So many connections, so absolutely, yes, this will perhaps be a gathering of leaders, the like of which we really haven't seen in many generations. She hosted here 112 different state visits. So the depth and strength of global connections exists and will be replicated to a large degree, I think we can expect, in who comes to the funeral.
ANDERSON: Nic Robertson is in Balmoral in Scotland.
Thank you, Nic.
The grief and sorrow felt by Britons and others around the world, many are leaving pictures and notes and flowers, as they pay their last respects to the queen and looking ahead to what kind of leader King Charles III may become.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think stepping into the shoes of such a legacy will be incredibly difficult. He very clearly wants to be his own person.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I think we need to give him the opportunity to do that as well because it's very easy for us to very quickly judge. But actually just like anyone, we need to give him our time and support.
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ANDERSON: Many people have coming here to Buckingham Palace behind me to pay their respects. Nada Bashir is covering this.
As dawn breaks and it warms up a little -- it has been a bit chilly -- we would expect to see people gather once again today. Huge crowds here yesterday, paying their respects.
What will people say?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We saw crowds streaming in from all directions once again to stand outside the gates of Buckingham Palace, leaving flowers and letters and notes in memory of the queen.
Many people sharing their sadness and sorrow at the passing of someone who has been a symbol of continuity and stability. For many, it is the only monarch they have ever seen on the throne here in the kingdom. So it is a significant moment for so many.
Families coming with their children to mark the occasion, the historic occasion, because this was the moment that they saw now King Charles III arriving back at Buckingham Palace for the first time.
That was quite a poignant moment in itself. We saw King Charles and his Queen Consort, Camilla, arriving. We saw him immediately go straight to the crowd, shaking hands, hugging, even receiving a kiss on the cheek at one point.
We heard people chanting, "Long live the king," and it was quite a moment because there have been conversations around how now he would be received, when his time came to ascend to the throne; whether he would be seen as welcomed or as warmly as his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
We did see that warm welcome for the king and his queen consort yesterday and it really is a significant moment for him.
ANDERSON: Now the hard work begins, of course, in the next stage, which is, what is his role going forward?
How does he carve out a role in what is this new era?
Is it clear at this point how he is thinking?
BASHIR: We did get a sense of how he does see his role going forward in his speech yesterday. It was his first address to the nation as King Charles III. And he gave that address from Buckingham Palace.
And he actually acknowledged that his position will now change within the royal family. He has in the past taken a bit more of a activist role and that has seen him face some criticism in the past, because the queen and members of the royal family are meant to be apolitical.
And he took a stance on matters that may not have been welcomed as openly in the past, such as climate change, championing the environment and other causes, including agriculture. And he has faced criticism for that in the past.
But he knows that his role will have to change and that he will not be able to dedicate as much time to the causes that he is so passionate about. But he said that these will be placed in the hands of people who could continue to deliver on those causes.
And, of course, as sovereign that role will change. But he also, which I think is quite interesting, noted that he is coming to the throne at a time when the country is in a very different state to when it was when the queen first ascended the throne.
He reiterated and reaffirmed the value that she gave, to serve the country for the rest of his life but he also noted that this is a country that now encompasses many different backgrounds and cultures and faiths.
And while he committed to his duty as a sovereign to the Church of England, he noted that he will serve loyally and with love all of those from all different backgrounds. And I think that is key, because, of course, the royal family as a whole now is trying to carve out a space in a time when they are trying to modernize. They are trying to adapt and evolve in line with how society has
evolved.
ANDERSON: To counter criticism, that the monarchy is simply anachronistic -- we will talk more about that in the days to come. Thank you very much. Nada Bashir with me outside Buckingham Palace.
As the lights of the sun rises, I'm not sure the sun will rise necessarily in the next couple of hours, because it's rather cloudy here. But it is a lovely morning and Buckingham Palace there behind us.
As many people around the world mourning the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth. But on the African continent, feelings about the queen and the monarchy are much more complicated. Ahead, the troublesome past that clouds the queen's legacy there.
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ANDERSON: Around the globe, people are marking the ascension of King Charles III to the British throne. And Charles is now becoming the only the second sovereign most Brits in the country have ever known.
As supporters welcomed the king and mourn the loss of his mother, others have a more complicated view of the British monarchy. Vedika Sud is in Delhi.
And while most Commonwealth nations are officially mourning the queen, many residents have a different perspective. Not least many in India, a different perspective on her legacy. Explain if you will.
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A combination of reasons for this. The first I would say is the disconnect because, if you actually look at India's population, over 50 percent of India's population are of people under the age of 30.
And they would rather connect or relate to William or Harry than Queen Elizabeth II and in this case, Becky, Queen Elizabeth II, her last visit to India was 25 years back in 1997.
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SUD: So I would say the young population does feel a disconnect with the queen. Another very important reason is the social and economic realities of India. Over 60 percent of India's population lives in rural India.
A lot of these people wouldn't even know who Queen Elizabeth II was. They would be unaware of this fact. And the third reason is this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She has so much power. She could have brought so many changes, correct the mistakes that the people before her did. But she did nothing about it.
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SUD: The historical blunders of the past, the British ruling there for 200 years and the partition, the 75th anniversary of India's independence was a bloody partition. About 500,000 to 2 million people lost their lives.
Historians, Indians, politicians who blamed the British for this, they blamed the last viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, for making this hasty decision of partition.
As we know, Mountbatten was the second cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. So it has been a muted response, despite India being the biggest colony of the British in terms of the past. And the response has been muted when compared to Australia or the other Commonwealth nations.
ANDERSON: Vedika Sud is in New Delhi. Thank you.
The royal family's relationship with Africa is complicated, to say the least. On the one hand, there is a history of British colonial rule, which often left a legacy of segregation and economic ruin.
On the other hand, royal family members had deep personal ties to the continent, where they remained well-known and oftentimes well loved figures. Zain Asher has reactions to the queen's passing.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good evening. We interrupt the viewing from the events in Parliament to bring you this breaking news tonight and that is of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The news of the queen's death reverberated across the African continent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's quite sad but we are just saying that we are grateful that she has been on the throne for so long and she did whatever she had to do. And yes, we will just celebrate her life.
ASHER (voice-over): The reign of Queen Elizabeth II began in Africa more than 70 years ago. On a visit to Kenya, she found out that her father, King George, had died. She was staying at the famous Treetops hotel. It is said that she climbed up a tree a princess and came down a queen.
Over the years, Elizabeth's connection with the African continent was heightened by her involvement in the Commonwealth, a group of nations largely made up of former British colonies. Of the 56 members of the Commonwealth, 21 are African states, including Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I felt sad because regardless of situation,
regardless of whatever surrounds it in a negative way, she is still the head of the Commonwealth, which we belong to, which has given us as to Gambians a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like she's my mother or my grandmother. You know, that's how I feel.
ASHER (voice-over): Many African leaders were quick to offer their condolences. The president of Ghana announcing flags lowered to half- staff for seven days.
And Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari wrote on Twitter about his immense sadness at the passing of the queen.
But Buhari and others, who have praised the queen, have faced public backlash. Some Africans argue the passing of the queen reminds them of the ugly business of colonialism and slavery, though the queen eventually helped usher independence to Britain's African colonies.
She also presided over sometimes brutal repression during the early years of her reign. She never apologized for colonial crackdowns and the British government has not entertained demands for slavery reparations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The queen has lived like she was never going to die. I never knew any other ruler last that long. So for this now to have happened, well, it only means that everyone has an end.
ASHER (voice-over): The story of Britain's African history now passes to the new king, a history filled with both pride and pain. And Africa waits to see what the chapter on Charles III will look like -- Zain Asher, CNN.
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ANDERSON: People in the United Kingdom saying their goodbyes to the only monarch most have ever known. When we return, we will talk to ordinary Britons and find out how they are remembering their beloved symbol of everything that is British.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back, I am Becky Anderson for you in London. King Charles III became the British monarch the moment Queen Elizabeth passed away but he will be formally named or proclaimed as sovereign in a ceremony in the coming hours at St. James' Palace.
[01:30:00] ANDERSON: On Friday, the gates of Buckingham Palace were covered in flowers left by mourners. King Charles spent some time viewing the tributes and speaking with well-wishers gathered outside. And he also delivered his first address as king. And in it, the longest serving heir apparent thanked his mother for her many years of service.
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CHARLES III, KING OF ENGLAND: 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.
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ANDERSON: The grief for many people in the U.K. has been somewhat overwhelming as they say goodbye to a monarch who has been a steadfast symbol of this country for decades. CNN's Matthew Chance takes a look at how Britons are reacting.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a day of grief for these mourners, the first without their beloved queen. A sea of flowers lined Buckingham Palace, a symbol of Elizabeth II's strongest legacy, the affection and respect she inspired in people's hearts.
KATIE MALLINGS, MOURNER: She's just been a part of our life -- well, all of our lives apart from anyone that was born before her. So she has just been that constant strength and a rock really, throughout any bad times throughout our lives.
CHANCE (voice-over): For most here, Queen Elizabeth was the only monarch they've ever known. Some even comparing her death to losing a member of their own family.
CHANCE: We can see there is this enormous outpouring of grief, sadness, I think overwhelmingly respect from people in Britain toward Queen Elizabeth now that she has passed and people at the gates of Buckingham Palace here, actually in thronged with thousands of people.
They are coming to lay flowers as they are sort of stacking them up outside the gates of Buckingham Palace and laying messages as well like this one here, it says, addressed to the queen, obviously, "Thank you for all you've done for the people of the world. May you rest in peace."
CHANCE (voice-over): Indeed, the queen of many countries, the monarch who ruled over 15 nations, as well as Britain and touched the hearts of the millions of people who respected her, the same people now mourning her loss across the globe.
But this was also a day of renewal, to celebrate a new sovereign.
It was an apprehensive King Charles III who met his new subjects for the first time as their monarch and his welcome was encouraging and warm, even received an out-of-protocol kiss from a member of the public, a memorable moment indeed, as he became king.
The succession may be automatic in Britain's system of monarchy but what's not automatic is the transfer of respect his mother enjoyed as the head of state.
King Charles III will have to work to achieve the same place as his mother in the hearts and minds of the British public.
LESLEY GARRETT, OPERA SINGER: Sorry, that was just God's way. I'll never ever sing "God Save the Queen" again. She's just meant so much to this entire country for so long. It's like the tectonic plates of our society have shifted and they'll never be the same, never.
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CHANCE (voice-over): From now on, it is "God Save the King." And for a younger generation, Charles III will have to become their symbol of the British crown -- Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
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ANDERSON: Sean Lang is a senior lecturer in history at Anglia Ruskin University and he joins me now live from Cambridge in England.
And it's good to have you with us. The events over the next 10 days also will be unfamiliar to all but a very, very few royal watchers. Just explain the significance of what we are about to witness.
SEAN LANG, ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY: We are going through two phases, I suppose. First of all, you have the period of mourning, where the focus is on the late queen, so we haven't yet heard exactly when the funeral will be.
But we are expecting it to be in just over a week's time or so. And then you think ahead toward the coronation of the new king. So it is in those two phases. And as you rightly say, you have to go back to 1952 and 1953 for the previous example of this.
And there are relatively few people who can get there and think back that far. So it's going to be quite a -- not bewildering exactly but I think a lot of people will be feeling their way and looking back for precedent. But it's also important not simply to follow the way things were done last time. So the funeral --
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LANG: -- actually the royal family has shown themselves good at shaping funerals. If you think the obvious one, which has been in the memories have been triggered by the scenes of Buckingham Palace, was of course Princess Diana. And that funeral, although it looked very traditional, was in fact sort of put together pretty much at the last moment and certainly put together in a very, very quick way because of the circumstances. And the other one was Prince Philip only last year, where, again,
because of the COVID regulations, again things had to be somewhat improvised and certainly changed. So I think the queen's funeral will certainly be put together, not simply following precedent and protocol but to reflect the mood and to reflect the very deep affection you have been hearing in that package that people have for her.
ANDERSON: Before that, of course, the proclamation of the ascension to the throne of King Charles III. That happens at St. James' Palace, which is just -- weird to say -- just a couple of palaces down from where I sit here, outside Buckingham Palace.
And that will be unfamiliar even to those who are taking part of it. There is a new president of the Privy Council, for example, who, only a couple of weeks ago, was actually in the race to be prime minister here.
So we will watch for that and our viewers will see that here on CNN in the hours to come.
And there will be people who are listening to us speaking today, who consider the monarchy anachronistic.
Is there value, as one commentator argues today in the "Daily Telegraph" newspaper, in having one sort of institution that transcends the divisions that have -- and frankly do continue to consume Britain?
LANG: Yes, I know the argument you are talking about. But actually if you sort of think about it more deeply, monarchy is absolutely everywhere. You have the former monarchies, like the British one.
We also have other forms of government where all power is placed in one person. That's a monarchy. It's not called one. But you think of countries like Russia and China, where effectively you have a monarchy. You have other countries where it's effectively dynastic -- North Korea comes to mind or Haiti.
Monarchy comes in many different shapes and forms. But the constitutional monarchy, where the powers of the monarch are so limited and, effectively in Britain, it's a monarchy, yes, but it's a sort of monarchical republic in reality.
So when you say it's an anachronism, it's only an anachronism if people don't want it. And all the signs are that there is a huge level of support for the continuation of the monarchy.
But if that were to change -- and Prince Philip himself would say something along the lines of we will keep going as long as the people want us to. And that is the paradox but it also explains the reaction that we have had.
This is a democratic monarchy and it very much reflects the wishes of the people but the wishes change. Then either the monarchy itself will change or it will go. But as it stands, there's a very strong wave of public support for it. ANDERSON: You could certainly argue that the queen put to rest the
argument for Republicanism, at least the political argument for Republicanism, and made that redundant during her reign over the last 70 years in the U.K.
Perhaps that political argument continues. Sean, thank you, Sean Lang is in Cambridge in England.
And we will have more from London in a few moments. First, let's bring in Michael Holmes, who is at CNN Center in Atlanta. Michael.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Becky. We will check in with you in a few more minutes.
We will take a break and when we come back, unprecedented monsoon rains have left a third of Pakistan underwater, forcing thousands to leave everything behind. We will have this story when we come back.
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HOLMES: The U.S. Justice Department and former president Trump's legal teams have submitted proposals to a federal judge about who should serve as the special master in the investigation, into documents seized at Trump's Florida estate.
As you might expect, both sides are pretty far apart on what they are proposing. The DOJ says the special master should not review classified documents and the Trump team says the special master should review all the seized material.
The DOJ says the former president should pay the expenses and the Trump team says they should be split. The DOJ says the review should end by October 17th and Team Trump says reviews should be given 90 days to complete its job.
Ukrainian troops pushing back against Russian forces in the northeast of the country and elsewhere as well. This is an image of Ukrainian shoulders closing in on a key town in the Kharkiv region. They have recaptured an estimated 1,000 square kilometers there in recent days.
And a pro-Russian social media site says civilians in at least two towns are now being evacuated as Ukrainian troops get ever closer.
President Zelenskyy says the Ukrainian counter offensive is slow but it is steady.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): As of today, the armed forces of Ukraine have liberated and taken control of more than 30 settlements in Kharkiv region. In some villages of the region, security and safety checks are ongoing. We are gradually taking control of the new settlements.
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ZELENSKYY (through translator): We are returning the Ukrainian flag and protection for our citizens everywhere.
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HOLMES: Ukraine also said there has been an increase in desertions among Russian troops in the region.
Well, there is no rain in the forecast for much of Pakistan in the next several days. But that is a small measure of relief that's a country that has been battered by unprecedented monsoon rains. CNN's Clarissa Ward reports from Sindh province, where thousands of people had to leave everything behind.
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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The rains have stopped in Sindh province. But the waters are not subsiding.
The city of Sehwan had been something of a sanctuary for some of the more than 6 million people displaced by the floods in this region. Now the main highway has become a waterway. Smaller roads into the city are choked with traffic.
WARD: You can see there's just a steady stream of vehicles pouring into this area. These are all people who are desperately trying to escape their villages, which are now completely submerged underwater.
WARD (voice-over): Pakistan is responsible for less than 1 percent of the world's emissions but it is paying a stiff price for global warming. Heavy monsoon rains and melting glaciers have left nearly a third of this country underwater, wiping out villages like Fetah (ph).
When the floods hit, residents carried whatever they could save to a narrow strip of land by the roadside.
WARD: So this is how you're living now?
WARD (voice-over): Imran Ito (ph) has been living in a makeshift shelter for over a week. There's no gas to cook what little food they have left. Outside aid has yet to arrive. And the prospects of returning home anytime soon are dim.
"It's very painful to see. But where can we go?" he says. "This is my ancestral village."
A few miles down the road, locals are racing to stay ahead of the relentless waters. The government left them sent make sandbags but little other assistance, overstretched by the unprecedented scale of the crisis. WARD: So just so I understand you are building up these dikes to try to stop that water from completely destroying your village.
WARD (voice-over): There's too much water coming in. Imran Ito (ph) tells us and we're afraid of it.
WARD: He's showing how deep it is.
Can you see how deep that is?
WARD (voice-over): One man plunges into the floodwater to show how high the waters are. The flooding here has now reached its cruelest phase. The days no longer bring rain but nor do they bring relief. And for the many who have lost everything, there is nothing to do but wait.
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HOLMES: Now in the U.S., flood warnings are in effect for parts of southern California, including Riverside and San Diego Counties. Authorities say life-threatening flash flooding of creeks and urban areas is possible.
It is due to what used to be tropical storm Kay, now weakened and starting to pull away from the northern Baja Peninsula. Close to five inches with rain have been reported in locations and more is on the way.
And our coverage of the new era in the British monarchy continues in a moment with Becky Anderson in London, as some celebrated British subjects pay tribute to the queen.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back, I'm Becky Anderson outside of Buckingham Palace.
Expressions of grief and gratitude for a life dedicated to service. People continue to leave flowers, notes and photographs here in London and around the world, paying final respects to the late Queen Elizabeth.
Former British prime minister, Tony Blair, told CNN, King Charles III will serve the U.K. like his mother, Queen Elizabeth, did because, quote, "he is a very, very committed and caring person." Blair spoke with our chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour about his memories of the queen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TONY BLAIR, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I remember when I was just a child. And she -- I was brought up in Durham city in the north of England and she visited the city. And I remember watching her being driven through the streets.
And then of course, the next time I really was anywhere close to it was when I became prime minister. And she was -- you know, we used to then have a weekly audience, she was immensely gracious, and kind, sympathetic.
You know, we would have good discussions. She was one person in whom you could have complete confidence. You could say whatever you needed to say, ask whatever you wanted to ask.
And, you know, the thing about her, which I think is the most important thing in understanding how and why there's such -- such intensity of grief in our country right now but also, I think, to a degree around the world, is that she was somebody who, during a period of extraordinary change, if you think back to the early 1950s, her coronation, and then forward to today.
During that process of change, she managed somehow through all of it to blend the tradition that she represented with the modernizing modernity that was all around her. And, you know, that's an enormous skill.
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BLAIR: So she was someone who -- she wasn't just there, you know, there respected deeply because of the longevity with which she reigned, but also because of what she represented, and because of this character that she had this huge attachment to duty and decency and dignity.
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ANDERSON: Tony Blair speaking to Christiane.
Tributes and farewells pouring in from celebrities around the world. Among them, Daniel Craig, who, as James Bond, faked jumping from a helicopter alongside the queen for the 2012 London Olympics.
He called the queen's legacy, "incomparable" and said, "she will be profoundly missed."
And Helen Mirren, who won an Oscar for portraying Queen Elizabeth, said, "We mourn a woman who, with or without the crown, was the epitome of nobility."
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ELIZABETH II, FORMER QUEEN OF ENGLAND: Tea?
PADDINGTON BEAR, STUFFED ANIMAL AND STORYBOOK HERO: Oh, yes, please.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Even Paddington Bear, who just recently visited Buckingham Palace for tea with the queen, tweeted out, "Thank you, ma'am, for everything."
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ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson. Our live coverage here outside of Buckingham Palace continues after this short break. don't go anywhere.
