King Charles III and Queen Consort to visit Northern Ireland

As part of a tour of the UK, King Charles III will pay his first official visit to Northern Ireland on Tuesday.

He will meet the party leaders in Stormont and be given a condolence letter from the assembly speaker.

He will be accompanied by Camilla, the Queen Consort, and PM Liz Truss will attend a church service with them in Belfast.

Following the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Thursday, Charles ascended to the throne.

Thousands of people have waited all night in line to pass by her coffin at St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, where it will be on display for 24 hours. 

   Later it will be flown to London, where the Queen will lie in the state ahead of her funeral on Monday.

Tuesday's arrival of King Charles and Camilla at Belfast City Airport will be greeted by schoolchildren, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, the airport's CEO, and the lord lieutenant of Belfast.

After that, they'll go to Hillsborough Castle for several engagements.

To gain an excellent view of the new King, the people in Hillsborough started to assemble before daybreak.

Sharon Douglas from Carryduff, near Belfast, and the sister's Norma McKinney, Vanessa Patten, and Rhonda Irvine from Ballymena, County Antrim, were among the first to arrive.

We arrived at 05:45 after getting up at 4 am, said Norma.

Sharon stated, "We wanted to get here early to let him know he has our support.

"It's sad, we want to give him our condolences, but also tell him we're happy for him."

The Royal couple will meet members of the public and see the many memorials to the late Queen during a brief walkabout when King Charles arrives at Hillsborough.

When the King enters Hillsborough Castle, there will be a gun salute at the official Royal residence.

There will be a total of 21 rounds fired, at a pace of six rounds each minute.

Additionally flown during the visit to Hillsborough Castle will be the Royal Standard.

The King and Queen Consort will examine pictures of the Queen in Northern Ireland once they are inside.

The King will host a private audience with Mr. Heaton-Harris before meeting local party leaders, and receiving a message of condolence from the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Alex Maskey.

The King and Queen Consort will meet with religious leaders from all of Northern Ireland's major faiths later on Tuesday before a prayer service and meditation on Queen Elizabeth II's life is held at St. Anne's Cathedral in Belfast on Tuesday afternoon.

The Royal couple will go along Wellington Place, Donegall Square North, Chichester Street, and Victoria Street through the heart of Belfast.

The King and Queen Consort will be escorted to Writers' Square's Donegall Street end after the service, where they may choose to meet with members of the public.

The King and Queen Consort will then be led to the steps at the cathedral's west door.

For those who would like to visit Royal Hillsborough on Tuesday, a shuttle bus service will run from 07:00 to 10:30 BST, leaving from both the Eikon Center and the Lisburn train station.

Translink has advised customers to expect some delays due to the anticipated traffic congestion in Hillsborough and Belfast.

On Tuesday night, King Charles will return to London.

Although His Majesty has visited Northern Ireland 40 times, this will be his first visit as King.