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Why King Charles III’s address to Parliament is 'significant'

"This is actually an old ceremony, but one that hasn’t been seen in public before, hasn’t been televised," British historian Andrew Roberts said.
/ Source: TODAY

King Charles III made his first visit to Parliament on Monday since the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, marking the first time the tradition of responding to condolences has been publicly shared and televised.

British historian Andrew Roberts told TODAY the address was "tremendously significant," as it has never happened in an era in which it could be broadcast.

Britain's King Charles III and Britain's Camilla, Queen Consort
Britain's King Charles III, with Camilla, Queen Consort, speaks before Parliament in Westminster Hall.Ben Stansall / AFP - Getty Images

"It hasn't happened for a very long time because of course, the queen was in Africa when she became queen, and previously the abdication crisis meant that there hadn't been a death for condolences to be given," Roberts said. "So this is actually an old ceremony, but one that hasn't been seen in public before, hasn't been televised."

Charles addressed members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords at Westminster Hall in London, the oldest existing building on what’s known as the Parliamentary Estate. (Here's why that location is significant.)

In his speech, he vowed to uphold the country's "vital parliamentary traditions" in his speech, and quoted Shakespeare while remembering his mother.

"I am deeply grateful for the Addresses of Condolence by the House of Lords and the House of Commons, which so touchingly encompass what our late Sovereign, my beloved mother The Queen, meant to us all," he said. "As Shakespeare says of the earlier Queen Elizabeth, she was 'a pattern to all Princes living.'"

"While very young, Her late Majesty pledged herself to serve her country and her people and to maintain the precious principles of constitutional government which lie at the heart of our nation," Charles continued. "This vow she kept with unsurpassed devotion."

Roberts told TODAY the "sheer number" of members of Parliament who expressed their loyalty and condolences was a powerful sight.

"The superb turnout from every political party across the spectrum underlines this sense of our constitutional monarchy being the result of a coming together of people willing to give up their powers, in order to have real powers, as far as the democratically elected House of Commons is concerned," he said.

In Britain's constitutional monarchy, the king or queen serves as head of state, but the power to pass legislation belongs to members of Parliament.

The United Kingdom is mourning the death of the queen for at least 10 days in ceremonies across the countries, starting in Scotland as the queen died in her beloved Balmoral Castle in the Scottish highlands.

Elizabeth died Thursday at age 96, hours after Buckingham Palace announced in a rare statement that her doctors were “concerned for Her Majesty’s health.”

Britain's King Charles III
Britain's King Charles III inside the Palace of Westminster, central London, on Monday.WPA Pool via Getty Images

Charles will lead members of the royal family in a procession behind the coffin of Britain's longest-reigning monarch Monday afternoon as it travels down the Royal Mile in Edinburgh to St. Giles’ Cathedral to allow members of the public to pay their respects.

The queen's coffin will arrive in London on Wednesday to lie in state in Westminster Hall for several days before her funeral, which culminates the 10 days of mourning. Elizabeth's funeral is scheduled to take place Sept. 19.