The King stopped to greet crowds gathered outside of Buckingham Palace as he arrived in London for the first time as monarch following the death of his mother.
Tearful and overwhelmed with emotion, people applauded and cheered the King during his walkabout outside the palace gates, with one person shouting: "God bless you Charles."
In an act which might have been considered as a breach of royal protocol, one woman hugged and kissed the King on the cheek as he stopped in front of her, but the new monarch appeared to take it in his stride.
He will be proclaimed at the Accession Council at 10am tomorrow in the State Apartments of St James's Palace, Buckingham Palace has said - with the process televised for the first time in history.
Dressed in a black suit and tie, the grieving King, left Balmoral this afternoon seated in the back of a car, with his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, in the front passenger seat, as they were driven to Aberdeen airport.
Crowds of people outside Buckingham Palace today
He stepped out carrying a bundle of papers and stopped to shake hands and spend time chatting to staff in the rain, before leaving on a plane bound for London.
The sun shone as the King arrived at RAF Northolt, still holding the file of papers, before being driven to Buckingham Palace in convoy.
He waved to the crowd which had gathered outside the exit as his car passed by.
The royal couple spent the night at Balmoral following the death of the 96-year-old monarch, who the King described as a "cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother".
He will return to the capital to hold his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss, before he addresses the nation on television at 6pm.
Sky News (c)
The 73-year-old was by his mother's side at her beloved Scottish Highlands home for much of Thursday after catching the royal helicopter from Dumfries House in Ayrshire.
Following news that the Queen's health was deteriorating, other senior royals also rushed to be by her side, including the next in line to the throne, Prince William.
His brother Prince Harry, was the first to leave the Royal Family's Scottish residence this morning, and boarded a British Airways flight from Aberdeen to London, after he travelled to Scotland alone.
Sky News (c)
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