King Charles III and his Queen Consort were greeted by cheering crowds when they arrived at Hillsborough Castle ahead of receiving a message of condolence from the people of Northern Ireland.
Charles and Camilla left Edinburgh for Northern Ireland after the new monarch and his siblings staged a vigil around their mother’s coffin on Monday evening at St Giles’ Cathedral.
The couple’s jet touched down at George Best Belfast City Airport, where the new Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris was waiting to greet the King and his wife, who are touring the four home nations.
Royal visits usually prompt gifts and, despite the solemnity of the occasion, schoolboy Lucas Watt, 10, from the local cross-community Forge Integrated primary school, presented the King with a tin featuring an image of the famous Giant’s Causeway.
The King looked pleased and tapped the present from Art on a Tin, a business set up by couple Bill and Caroline Skillen to promote local artists, and filled with truffles made by the Chocolate Manor from the Northern Ireland seaside village of Castlerock.
Camilla received a posy of flowers, from schoolgirl Ella Smith, 10, with the blooms taken from Hillsborough Castle.
After touching down in Belfast, Charles and Camilla travelled to Hillsborough Castle in Co Down, the royal residence in Northern Ireland, for several engagements.
The couple went on a walkabout when they first arrived at the castle, shaking hands with some of the hundreds of flag-waving people who had waited hours to catch a glimpse of the new King.
Well-wishers cheered when they first caught sight of the couple and the King and his wife received a 21-gun salute as they entered the grounds.
Shouts of “God save the King” were heard and at one moment and a corgi in the crowd snuggled up to Charles when its owner held it up during the walkabout by the royal couple.
There were many school children behind the barriers and one group handed over letters they had written to the King decorated on the reverse with a colourful image of the Union flag they had drawn.
A round of applause broke out as they inspected floral tributes to the late Queen before entering the grounds of the castle.
Later the King held a private audience with the Northern Ireland Secretary as well as meeting representatives of political parties in the region.
The couple will then receive a message of condolence on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland from the speaker of the Stormont Assembly Alex Maskey.
They will then go to a reception at the castle, hosted by Mr Heaton-Harris, which some members of the public will also attend.
Charles and Camilla will then travel to St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast where they will attend a service of reflection for the life of the Queen.
The new monarch will also meet leaders from all the major faiths in Northern Ireland.
Before leaving, Charles and Camilla will undertake a walkabout at Writers’ Square near St Anne’s Cathedral.
