King Charles says the Queen's death was 'a moment I dreaded' when he first met the Prime Minister

King Charles described the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, as the moment he "apprehended" during an exchange with Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday.

The Prime Minister's first meeting with the new monarch took place after Charles returned to London from Scotland to a cheering crowd outside Buckingham Palace who had come to pay their respects to the Queen.

“The moment that I dreaded, as I know many people have,” Charles was heard telling the Prime Minister as they met in the courtroom of the palace of Buckingham.

Earlier, Charles and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, spent more than 10 minutes shaking hands with dozens of well-wishers and admiring the floral tributes outside the palace after getting out of their car for a impromptu walk.

King Charles III during his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace (

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PENNSYLVANIA)

"We mustn't take up too much of your time," Charles told Truss, who didn't take office until Tuesday.

"It was so moving this afternoon when we arrived, all these people who had come to offer their condolences... and flowers", he added, while the Prime Minister also expressed his condolences.

The meeting took place ahead of a televised address by Charles to the nation, in which he pledged to follow his mother's example in devoting himself to duty.

The new Prime Minister met the new King after the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday (

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PENNSYLVANIA)

In a heartfelt address to the nation, King Charles paid tribute to his late mother and pledged to serve with "loyalty, respect and love" as she had for more than seven decades.

Charles thanked the Queen for her devotion to her family and those for whom she was monarch.

Elizabeth, Britain's longest-serving monarch, died at her home in Scotland on Thursday at the age of 96, drawing an outpouring of tributes from her country and around the world.