UK Marks First Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's Death

Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8 last year at her Balmoral estate in northeast Scotland. Jane Barlow / POOL/AFP
Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8 last year at her Balmoral estate in northeast Scotland. Jane Barlow / POOL/AFP
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UK Marks First Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's Death

Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8 last year at her Balmoral estate in northeast Scotland. Jane Barlow / POOL/AFP
Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8 last year at her Balmoral estate in northeast Scotland. Jane Barlow / POOL/AFP

Britain's King Charles III on Friday thanked the public for their support in his first year as monarch, as he marked the one-year anniversary of the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

In a short statement, the 74-year-old British head of state recalled the "great affection" for his mother, her life and public service, AFP said.

"I am deeply grateful, too, for the love and support that has been shown to my wife and myself during this year as we do our utmost to be of service to you all," he added.

Commemorations will be low key on Friday, with the king -- who is at his sprawling Scottish Highland estate of Balmoral -- not expected at any official engagement.

He and wife Camilla will attend nearby Crathie Kirk, the late queen's place of worship, for private prayers and a moment of reflection.

His mother, who was on the throne for a record-breaking 70 years, died at Balmoral aged 96 after a period of declining health.

Throughout her reign she did not publicly mark her accession, as it was also the anniversary of her own father King George VI's death in 1952.

Last year, when she began her Platinum Jubilee year on February 6, she spent the day in private at her Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England.

- Gun salutes -

In London, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery will mark Charles's accession by firing a 41-gun ceremonial salute in Hyde Park from 12:00 pm (1100 GMT).

Members of the Honorable Artillery Company -- the oldest regiment in the British Army -- will fire a 62-gun salute from the Tower of London from 1:00 pm.

Both regiments were involved in firing the Death Gun salutes to mark the queen's death, and the Proclamation salutes to mark Charles's new reign.

The king's eldest son and heir, Prince William, and his wife, Catherine, will commemorate the anniversary with a small private service at St Davids Cathedral in west Wales.

William's estranged younger brother, Prince Harry, was in the UK for a charity event on Thursday but was not expected to meet members of his family.

"As you know, I was unable to attend the awards last year as my grandmother passed away," Harry told the charity event.

"She would have been the first person to insist that I still come to be with you all instead of going to her, and that's precisely why I know exactly one year on that she is looking down on all of us tonight, happy we're together."

Relations between Harry and his father and brother have been strained since he and his wife, Meghan, quit royal life and moved to North America in 2020.

Ties have been frayed further by their criticisms of the family in television interviews, a docuseries and Harry's autobiography.

Memorial
Elizabeth II's death was a seismic event in British life. For most Britons alive, the queen was the only monarch and head of state they had ever known.

During the 10-day official mourning period, tens of thousands of people queued for up to 25 hours to file past her flag-shrouded coffin as it lay in state in Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament.

Even more packed the streets of London and the route west to Windsor Castle for the state funeral, which was beamed around the world to a television audience of millions.

The queen was interred in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, Windsor, alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died in 2021, her father and mother and the ashes of her younger sister, Princess Margaret.

Earlier this week, the government announced that a national memorial to the late monarch will be commissioned "in due course".

In London on Thursday, there were mixed views about Charles's first year.

Some felt he had been right not to introduce sweeping reform too early. "He's got a hard act to follow but he will, I think change things," Joanne Hughes, 61, told AFP outside Buckingham Palace.

But despite 161 official engagements and tours of all four nations of the United Kingdom, others were indifferent about the new king -- and the monarchy in general.

"The monarchy is dying," said nursing student Mimi Jaffer-Clarke.

"If he wants it to not die, then he needs to try to get the younger generation to like him -- and we just don't."



Massive New Los Angeles-area Fire Balloons as Winds Pick Up

Firefighters battle the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake, north of Santa Clarita, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu
Firefighters battle the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake, north of Santa Clarita, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu
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Massive New Los Angeles-area Fire Balloons as Winds Pick Up

Firefighters battle the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake, north of Santa Clarita, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu
Firefighters battle the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake, north of Santa Clarita, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu

Powerful winds and bone-dry conditions were expected to pose a challenge to firefighters battling new wildfires in southern California on Thursday, including a new blaze that swelled over the past day, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate north of Los Angeles.

The Hughes fire, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Los Angeles, grew to 10,176 acres (4,118 hectares) since igniting on Wednesday morning, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said on its website.

The 4,000 firefighters battling the blaze have achieved 14% containment, a measure of the percentage of a fire's perimeter that is under control, Cal Fire added.

Crews fighting the Hughes Fire and two other massive Los Angeles blazes - Palisades and Eaton - were expected to be tested by strong Santa Ana winds of up to 50 miles (80 km) per hour with gusts reaching 65 miles (105 km) per hour and humidity levels dropping below 10% throughout the day and into Friday, forecasters said, Reuters reported.

"Dangerous fire weather conditions will persist through Friday as fuels remain extremely dry and ready to burn, with Thursday the period of greatest concern," the National Weather Service said in an advisory. "Any fire that starts can grow fast and out of control."

About 31,000 people were evacuated on Wednesday as the fire sent huge flames and plumes of smoke over a hilly terrain in the Castaic Lake area near Santa Clarita.

The Eaton and Palisades fires, which leveled entire neighborhoods on the eastern and western flanks of Los Angeles, have killed 28 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 16,000 structures over the past two weeks.

Helicopters battling the Hughes Fire scooped water out of a lake to drop on the fire while airplanes dropped fire retardant on the hills, video on KTLA television showed. Flames spread to the water's edge.

Eyewitness video showed the skies north of Los Angeles tinted orange on Wednesday afternoon as the Hughes Fire expanded rapidly.

A smaller blaze, called the Sepulveda Fire, was burning along the 405 freeway near the Getty Museum - home to numerous art treasures - in the San Fernando Valley on Thursday. The brush fire, which was 40 acres (16 hectares) and 0% contained, briefly caused part of the heavily traveled highway to be closed and some nearby residents to be evacuated overnight.

Southern California has gone without significant rain for nine months, contributing to hazardous conditions, but some rain was forecast from Saturday through Monday, possibly giving firefighters much-needed relief.

As of Thursday morning, the Eaton Fire that scorched about 14,000 acres (5,670 hectares) east of Los Angeles was 95% contained, while the larger Palisades Fire, which has consumed about 23,450 acres (9,490 hectares) on the west side of Los Angeles, stood at 70% contained, Cal Fire said.