North East MPs have paid tribute to the Queen in a special House of Commons debate, as the nation’s new monarch King Charles III was given a rapturous welcome by well-wishers outside Buckingham Palace.
It was the new King’s first walkabout and encounter with the public since his historic accession and crowds lined up behind a barrier clamouring to greet him, smiling and taking photos of him on their phones.
One woman leaned over to kiss Charles’s right hand and another kissed him on the cheek as he thanked people for their good wishes, shaking countless hands after stepping from his state Bentley.
Meanwhile, a short walk away in the Palace of Westminster, MPs were lining up to pay tribute to the King's late mother.
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Boris Johnson branded the Queen "Elizabeth the Great" and said she was “as radiant and as knowledgeable and as fascinated by politics as ever” in their last meeting before his resignation as prime minister.
Mr Johnson described the Queen as “the keystone in the vast arch of the British state” and sparked laughter from the when he said: “Unlike us politicians, with our outriders and our armour-plated convoys, I can tell you as a direct eye witness that she drove herself in her own car with no detectives and no bodyguard, bouncing at alarming speed over the Scottish landscape to the total amazement of the ramblers and the tourists we encountered.”
Another former Prime Minister, Theresa May, told MPs how the Queen was “quite simply the most remarkable person I have ever met”.
She added: "She united our nation in times of trouble.
“She joined in our celebrations with joy and a mischievous smile. She gave an example to us all, of faith, of service of duty, of dignity, of decency.
“She was remarkable, and I doubt we will ever see her like again. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.”
Newcastle MP Catherine McKinnell told how she "shed a tear" after learning of the Queen's passing, adding: "I was asked by one of my children, what the Queen meant to me. It was only when I thought about how I would answer that question to them that I realised the profound impact that her ever presence has had.
"A strong, steadfast matriarch, unwavering in her calm, measured, dignified approach, no matter the challenges thrown at her, or at our nation, so often she captured the mood of a country, shared our joys and provided comfort.
"Her legacy will live on for many years to come."
Sunderland MP Julie Elliot added: "The Queen was born to serve and how she has served for her 96 years, to have seen that photograph the other day, receiving the new Prime Minister. She looked very frail, clearly not in the best of health but did any of us really think that a day or two later, she wouldn't be with us?
"Serving to the very end has been her life and I think we are all grateful for that."
The King must now turn to his duties as monarch despite his grief, as he held his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss ahead of delivering a televised address to a nation in mourning on Friday evening.
Details of the King’s historic Accession Council, which will be held on Saturday at 10am in St James’s Palace, were announced by Buckingham Palace. It will be televised for the first time in its history, showing the King being formally proclaimed monarch and Charles making his declaration and oath.
A Principal Proclamation will be read in public for the first time by the Garter King of Arms in the open air from the balcony overlooking Friary Court at St James’s an hour later at 11am. It will be followed by a flurry of proclamations around the country, with the second one in the City of London at the Royal Exchange at midday on Saturday, and further proclamations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales at midday on Sunday.
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