The King and Queen attended a church service at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral on Sunday on the second anniversary of the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Prayers will be said for the King and the royal family hundreds of miles away at services in London’s Westminster Abbey – the scene of the late Queen’s final farewell at her funeral 11 days after her death.

The gothic abbey’s bells will also ring out to mark the King’s accession anniversary, as is the custom.

Gun salutes are usually fired on Accession Day, but because this year it falls on a Sunday when salutes traditionally do not take place, the military tribute by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery at Hyde Park and The Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London has been moved to Monday.

Both regiments taking part were responsible for firing the Death Gun salutes upon the death of Elizabeth II, with almost all of the soldiers and horses taking part playing a role in the Queen’s funeral and the proclamation of the King.

Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II on the second anniversary of her death.

The prime minister wrote on X/Twitter: “Today marks two years since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. The late Queen’s dedication to the UK and Commonwealth taught us that whatever challenges our country faces, the value of service always endures.

“For the 70 glorious years of her reign, she was at the heart of this nation’s life. Today we honour her memory.”

The Scottish church where Queen Elizabeth II worshipped has hosted the BBC’s Songs Of Praise programme for the first time to mark the second anniversary of her death.

The special programme, due to be screened on Sunday, features a hymn commissioned by the King called Crathie in honour of the building.

During the programme, presenter Claire McCollum meets Crathie’s minister and chaplain to the monarch, Reverend Ken MacKenzie, to reflect on the late Queen’s deep faith and how she always felt part of his congregation.

He will take the broadcaster on a historical tour of the kirk, including the foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria in 1893 and the royal pews where the King and Queen Camilla regularly worship.

The King faced a “rollercoaster” second year as sovereign, with the Queen proving herself the “star of the show” thanks to her support for her husband and the monarchy, a royal expert has said.

Sunday is the second anniversary of Charles’s accession to the throne and the loss of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The year 2024 looked set to offer a chance for the King and the royal family to settle in amid the aftermath the late Queen’s death and the King’s accession in 2022 and the hectic demands of the coronation in 2023.

But the health blows faced by Charles and the Princess of Wales torpedoed any plans for a run-of-the-mill year.

Joe Little, of Majesty magazine, said: “Nobody saw those things coming and they had a profound impact. It has been a rollercoaster year for the King, not just for him, but for his family, and it will have been of great concern to the Queen.

“Nonetheless he has been remarkably active for someone with his condition and given his age.

“He hasn’t really let the treatment hold him back, but I’m sure he hasn’t done anything near as much as he would have liked to have done.”

The King and Queen have left Crathie Kirk by car after the hour-long service.

Also at the service was Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney, who had stayed overnight at Balmoral Castle as a guest of the King.

The guest preacher at the service attended by the King and Queen described the anniversary as “particularly significant and poignant for the royal family”.

Rt Rev Dr Shaw Paterson, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said he had remembered the royal family in his prayers during his sermon, and it was a privilege to preach to the King, the Queen and rest of the congregation.

After the service, he described how the King was “very well known and liked” in the local community around Balmoral and is “very much part of it”, just like the late Queen.

Dr Paterson said: “It was a privilege to preach to the congregation of Crathie Kirk, which included King Charles III and members of the royal family.

“This weekend is particularly significant and poignant for the royal family, indeed for all of us in Scotland, across the wider UK and Commonwealth, because the 8th of September marks the second anniversary of the death of Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty’s accession to the throne.

“Like his late mother, His Majesty is very well known and liked in this community and is very much part of it. I remembered the royal family, along with all the people of this parish and the wider nation and Commonwealth in my prayers.”

The King acceded to the throne two years ago, immediately upon the death of the late Queen.

One Thursday September 8 2022, rumours begin to reach newsrooms early in the morning that the Queen has taken ill at Balmoral Castle, and possibly had a fall.

At 10.30am, the then-Prince of Wales made a 120-mile dash by helicopter from Dumfries House to Balmoral after being alerted to the Queen’s worsening condition. Charles visited his mother and later went foraging for mushrooms on the estate as he contemplated his accession and imminent duty as king.

At 3.10pm, Elizabeth II – the nation’s longest reigning monarch – died at the age of 96 in her bedroom in the castle, with Anne at her bedside.

Charles, who immediately became King, was at the wheel of his car on his way to Balmoral after his mushroom-foraging trip on his Birkhall estate. He pulledover to take the phone call, confirming the news, in which he was addressed as “Your Majesty” for the first time.

He received condolences from Camilla, the new Queen, and others accompanying them. He put the car into gear and continues the drive to Balmoral.

At 7.04pm, Charles issued his first statement as King, and describes his mother’s death as “a moment of the greatest sadness”.

One of those who gathered to see the King arrive at Crathie Kirk was Diane Brandish, a tourist visiting Scotland from Christchurch in New Zealand.

She said catching sigh of the King was an unexpected “bonus” in her holiday, saying: “We happened to be coming by and I didn’t realise that King Charles would be here.”

She added: “Most people in New Zealand follow the royal family quite closely and are aware of the anniversary.”

Diane and her husband saw the King waving at the crowd as he entered the church, saying “he was very gracious”.

The royal family has paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II on the second anniversary of her death.

The monarchy’s official social media account posted a photograph on X of the late Queen, in a pink hat and matching outfit, smiling at a summer Buckingham Palace garden party in 2019, alongside the words: “Remembering Queen Elizabeth II, 1926-2022.”

The King’s health is “heading in a very positive trajectory”, royal sources have said, as he marks the second anniversary of his accession to the throne.

Charles’, second year as sovereign has been filled with health concerns, having been diagnosed with cancer and dealing with ongoing treatment alongside his royal duties.

But a source said Charles had coped with the past year with a “determination to be as public as he was able” to reassure the nation about how much he could still do.

The King spent around three months away from public-facing duties and returned in April with a visit to a cancer centre in London.

He had a high profile run of engagements through the next few months with D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations in Portsmouth and Normandy, Trooping the Colour, the incoming Japanese state visit, a short trip to Jersey and Guernsey, the appointment of a new Prime Minister after Labour’s landslide general election, and the State Opening of Parliament.

The King and Queen are gearing up for an important tour to Australia and Samoa in the autumn – their first major overseas trip since news of Charles’s cancer was announced.

“Health has to remain the number one priority, albeit heading in a very positive trajectory,” the source said.