King Charles marks his first year on the throne, cautious but steady

Horse Racing - Royal Ascot - Ascot Racecourse, Ascot, Britain - June 21, 2023 Britain's King Charles is pictured during the Royal Procession ahead of the day's races REUTERS/Andrew Boyers/File photo

LONDON (Reuters) - King Charles has trodden a cautious but successful path in his first year on the British throne, friends and royal watchers say, but rifts within his family still hang over his reign.

Charles, 74, succeeded his mother Queen Elizabeth when she died a year ago this Friday aged 96 at her Balmoral Castle home in Scotland, prompting national and global mourning at the end of a 70-year reign.