World News | Charles Back in London as King; Queen Mourned

London, Sep 9 (AP) Flags were flying at half-staff on landmarks in Australia on Friday as people expressed sadness at the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

Australian Governor-General David Hurley and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed condolence books in Canberra.

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“There is comfort to be found in Her Majesty's own words: Grief is the price we pay for love.'” said the Australian prime minister.

New Zealanders also mourned the passing of Queen Elizabeth II with tributes around the country on Friday. At the Auckland War Memorial, a group of young people performed the Haka, a ceremonial dance in Maori culture. Flags flew at half-staff around the country.

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Under New Zealand's constitutional arrangements, the queen was also New Zealand's monarch and head of state.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand had moved into a period of official mourning, and would hold a state memorial service after the official funeral in Britain.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

— Prince Charles became king upon his mother's death

— Will Charles be loved by his subjects, like his mother was?

— Queen Elizabeth II, a monarch bound by duty, dies at 96

— Elizabeth has been the only monarch most people in Britain know

— A constant in my life': World mourns Queen Elizabeth II

— Biden is 13th and final US president to meet Queen Elizabeth II

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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

Abuja: The death of the British monarch Queen Elizabeth II was frontpage news in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, biggest economy and former British colony.

Nigeria's President Mohammodu Buhari offered his condolences and expressed sadness on hearing of the queen's passing, according to his spokesman.

That sentiment was echoed by one man, Musa Adamu, at a news stand in the capital Abuja. The civil servant urged the British people to “exercise patience and endure the pain,” noting that “God will bless you all of you now.”

The flag flew at half-staff outside the British High Commission.

On a daily morning TV talk show, presenter Mohammed Jinadu and pundit Linda Claudia discussed the role Queen Elizabeth II played in holding the United Kingdom together.

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Gibraltar: Gibraltarians were mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II with several dozen queueing from the early hours of Friday to sign a book of condolences and lay flowers.

Gibraltar has lowered the flags of official buildings, entered a period of national mourning and cancelled celebrations on Saturday of its National Day.

On Friday morning the governor and Chief Minister also signed the condolences book that the residents had been writing in.

Fabian Picardo, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory bordering southern Spain, said “May Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Second rest in eternal peace. Long live the King.”

In a statement sent to media and posted online, Picardo also added:

“The People of Gibraltar will mourn Her Majesty as a monarch who has reigned wisely and with incomparable dedication throughout the period of our post-war emergence as a part of the British family of nations.”

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Belfast: A series of special gun salutes across the United Kingdom fired 96 shots on Friday, one for each year Queen Elizabeth II lived, a near century-long life.

Bells also tolled across the nation in honor of Queen Elizabeth II as the nation started 10 days of mourning for its longest-serving monarch.

King Charles III, who spent much of his 73 years preparing for the role, planned to meet with the prime minister and address a nation grieving the only British monarch most of the world had known.

He takes the throne in an era of uncertainty for both his country and the monarchy itself.

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Aberdeenshire: People paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at the gates of her Balmoral residence where she died.

Despite the rain on Friday, mourners from all walks of life came to lay down flowers or simply say goodbye to the British monarch they loved and respected.

“I just wanted to say thank you to the Queen,” said Christy Asalor.

“She has been a symbol of strength and stability, she has been so selfless and she's given herself, literally sacrificed her whole life serving us until two days before she passed and the least we could do is just say thank you.”

Other people said they were feeling a lot of sadness at the passing of the only queen they ever knew.

Queen Elizabeth II was the longest reigning British monarch, at 70 years of service.

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London: U.S. climate envoy and former U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, has paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth, describing her as the “calm in the storm” and a “great stateswoman.”

In brief comments to The Associated Press in London, Kerry said his thoughts were with the royal family and noted the sense of loss that people were feeling around the world.

Kerry also praised what he described as the queen's “great sense of direction.”

“Never any any vitriol, never any political commentary, always on values, always on the bigger picture,” he said. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)