William, Prince of Wales said he is grateful for the queen's presence in his life, in his first statement since the death of the queen. William said that he recognized the world lost an "extraordinary leader."

"I, however, have lost a grandmother. And while I will grieve her loss, I also feel incredibly grateful. I have had the benefit of The Queen’s wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade. My wife has had twenty years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives," William said.

"She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life. I knew this day would come, but it will be some time before the reality of life without Grannie will truly feel real," William said.

"I thank her for the kindness she showed my family and me. And I thank her on behalf of my generation for providing an example of service and dignity in public life that was from a different age, but always relevant to us all," William said.

King Charles III has been formally proclaimed monarch at a historic Accession Council in the State Apartments of St James’s Palace at 5 a.m. on Saturday. The ceremony is being televised for the first time in history.

A Principal Proclamation will then 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 6 a.m. ET.

It will be followed by a flurry of Proclamations around the country, with the second one at City of London at the Royal Exchange at midday on Saturday, and further Proclamations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales at midday on Sunday.

Buckingham Palace issued details of the arrangements, considered the first official orders of business of a new reign, on Friday.

Charles automatically became King on the death of his mother, but the Accession Council is usually convened at St James’s in London within 24 hours of the death of a sovereign.

Historically, the entire Privy Council is summoned to the Accession Council to oversee the formal proclamation of a new monarch.

But with the number of privy counsellors –- who are lifetime members and mostly past and present politicians –- now standing at more than 700, restrictions have been put in place. This does not affect the constitutional process.

King Charles III will undertake a number of important meetings at Buckingham Palace today following his formal proclamation as king this morning.

The king is scheduled to meet with Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, at 9 a.m. ET followed by a meeting with the U.K.’s newly appointed prime minister, Liz Truss, and members of her cabinet at 9:30 a.m. ET.

At 10 a.m. ET, King Charles II will receive the leaders of the opposition parties at Buckingham Palace before his final scheduled meeting of the day at 11 a.m. ET where he will receive David Hoyle, the Dean of Westminster.

Perhaps no animal has been so closely associated with a world figure as corgis were with Queen Elizabeth II.

Her death sparked an outpouring of photographs and drawings of her and her dogs throughout the years.

Fellow dog owners are also planning to celebrate the queen's life of service with a corgi parade outside of Buckingham Palace next month, the U.K. newspaper The Daily Mirror reported.

Read more about the queen's lifelong love of corgis.