King Charles III in Hillsborough: How the excitement mounted among massive crowds

Both on the left and right, children from two local primary schools took coveted front row positions at the metal barriers.

They won’t have realised it yet, but the memories they experienced will stay with them for the rest of their lives and will be passed down to generations after them.

Behind them, half a dozen residents from a local nursing home were also excitedly chatting. They had only got the invite for the special position with little notice and were beaming with pride. One of them told how he had served in the Royal Rifles. “And then a further 16 years in the UDR,” he said, proudly sporting his beret and matching blazer.

Gossip passed along the line as to when the couple might arrive. A close protection officer walked along the barrier and politely urged people not to hug or kiss the royal couple - and no selfies allowed either.

Keen eyed schoolteachers noted how police officers were peering down on us with binoculars from the roof of the castle, and apparently waving.

The police helicopter appeared in the sky and started circling over the town centre. A few minutes later a second joined it. The heads of the security detail at the castle gates lifted and soon after about half a dozen PSNI motorcycle outriders filed in one by one.

A media camera on a huge lever arm just inside the gates arched skywards. And hands across the crowd sprung into the air with mobile phones pointing to where the couple were to arrive. The buzz across the crowd intensified - the couple had arrived. First coming into view were the tense close protection officers, persistently scanning the crowd for anything unusual.

And slowly, King Charles III made his way towards us, reaching out both hands as he went to make contact with all his well wishers. The new monarch and his Queen Consort were putting their full hearts into engaging with their supporters, but it was clear they were both tired; it had been five days since his mother died and he had done virtually all his grieving in public, while at the same time bearing the crown himself for the first time. However the public understood, and willed him on with several rounds of applause and cries of ‘God Save the King’.

Away from the castle gates, the pavements from the top of the town to bottom were almost completely covered with well wishers, some of them waving Union flags and home made signs.

After King Charles finished his political engagements inside, the public waited patiently for another glimpse of the couple, hoping there was a chance he might stop to greet them. Sadly on this occasion it didn’t happen, and yet there was no sense of disappointment. The smiles on their faces and the almost carnival atmosphere told that they were happy they had done their duty and turned out to assure the couple of their support. They also appreciated that their new monarch had chosen to visit their neighbourhood so quickly after the crown passed to him, despite the mournful circumstances.

Tara Blyth from Glenavy expressed the mood well.

“I wanted to be part of this historic moment, just to be here and take in the atmosphere - but I also wanted to show my support to our new King,” she said.

Originally from South Africa, she still feels a strong affinity with the royal family.

“My dad was English and we grew up in South Africa knowing we would always come back to England and knowing that our monarch was the Queen.”

Her family were “always aware of who the royal family were and what they stood for,” she added.

The death of the Queen had a profound impact on her.

“I was quite devastated. She has been there my whole life. She has been my queen, she has been that figurehead and it is like losing a granny,” she said, holding her hand over her heart. “She has always been there for us.”