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Wearing black armbands, Test cricketers from England and South Africa held a minute's silence before a bell was chimed once by a high-ranking member of the military at the Oval.

Over to the west of London, golfers paused their rounds and other pros, officials and caddies gathered on the putting green in front of the first tee at Wentworth to hold a two-minute silence, also impeccably observed.

There were moving and respectful tributes to Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday as sports resumed in Britain following a nationwide shutdown the previous day as a mark of respect for the monarch of more than 70 years who died, aged 96, on Thursday.

Professional and grassroots soccer -- including the Premier League -- decided to call off all matches this weekend to give an opportunity for participants to mourn the queen's passing.

International cricket and golf returned, though, as did English domestic rugby, on the back of guidance from the government that there was no obligation on sports organisations to cancel or reschedule events during the nation's period of mourning.

The 10 minutes before the start of play in the third and deciding cricket test between England and South Africa were dedicated to paying tribute to the Queen.

Military walked onto the field of play at the Oval in south London to form a guard of honour, through which the teams walked and lined up either side of the wicket.

Following the minute's silence and the one bell chime, the anthems of both South Africa and England were sung by English soprano Laura Wright.

After seven decades of the English anthem "God Save the Queen," now it was an emotionally-charged rendition of "God Save the King" rippling around the ground.

Hours earlier on Saturday, King Charles III had officially been announced as Britain's monarch in a ceremony.

The BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event on the European tour, was stopped near the end of the first round on Thursday following the announcement of the Queen's death -- there had been still 30 players out on the course -- and there was no play on Friday.

Play restarted at 6:40am on Saturday, with the tournament having been reduced to 54 holes.

The proclamation of King Charles III was shown on the television screens in the Championship Village after the two-minute period of silence took place at 9:50am.

The European tour's chief executive, Keith Pelley, said he spoke with officials from the England and Wales Cricket Board on Friday.

He said they agreed that "bringing people together at this particular time, having both had the honour and respect of the day of cancellation on Friday, was the right decision."

"I have heard from so many players that want to honour Her Majesty," Pelley said, "and felt that playing was the right way to do it."

The decision of soccer to cancel games has proved to be divisive, with some feeling the game had missed a chance to honour the Queen in the way other sports have.

"I know it's only a game and some things are much bigger," former ngland striker Peter Crouch tweeted, "but imagine all our games went ahead this weekend.

"Black armbands, silences observed, national anthem, Royal band playing etc to the millions around the world watching?

"Isn't that a better send off?"

Horse racing -- the Queen's favourite sport -- will resume on Sunday, when the St Leger flat-racing classic takes place in Doncaster but there will be no meetings on September 19, the day of the Queen's funeral.

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Prince William has said he will honour the memory of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, by working to support his father King Charles.

"My grandmother famously said that grief was the price we pay for love," he said in a statement.

"All of the sadness we will feel in the coming weeks will be testament to the love we felt for our extraordinary Queen.

"I will honour her memory by supporting my father, The King, in every way I can."

Charles, 73, was officially proclaimed Britain's new monarch in a ceremony earlier on Saturday, having immediately succeeded his mother when the 96-year-old Queen died on Thursday.

William, 40, who is now the heir to the throne, said that the Queen "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."

On Friday, Charles on Friday bestowed on William the title Prince of Wales, which he previously held.

William's wife Kate was given the title Princess of Wales, which was previously held by Charles' late first wife, Diana.

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Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have joined Prince William and wife Kate to look at the tributes and flowers left outside Windsor Castle following the death of Queen Elizabeth, with the two couples later greeting well-wishers.

Relations have been strained between the two sons of the King after Harry and Meghan moved to the United States and the four had not been seen so closely together since.

William's spokesman said he had invited Harry and Meghan, officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to join him and Kate as they examined the flowers and spoke to crowds lining the entrance to Windsor Castle.

The sight of the two couples together will raise hopes that there has been a rapprochement following the death of the United Kingdom's longest-reigning monarch.

William was heard telling one well-wisher that the days following the Queen's death had been "so surreal".

"We all thought she was invincible," he said.

The couples were dressed all in black as they walked along the gates of the castle.

A crowd at the castle broke out into applause as the couples approached members of the public and spoke to them.

William was seen speaking intently to a member of the crowd, at one moment shaking a woman's hand.

Both William and Kate, given the titles Prince and Princess of Wales, could be seen thanking people.

Kate crouched down at one moment and began speaking to a child who had started to cry.

The child stopped crying when Kate approached her.

Meghan was also seen shaking the hands of several children and well-wishers at Windsor.

Harry and Meghan were handed bunches of flowers by the crowd which they both accepted.

William and Kate were also given bunches of flowers by members of the crowd as one visitor waved a Welsh flag in the background.

At one moment, a small Paddington Bear was given to William, which he passed on to an aide.

He was seen lightly touching Kate's back at one moment as she crouched down to speak to a child at the front of the gates.

The crowd was heard chatting excitedly and taking photographs as William and Kate and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stopped to speak to each person at the front of the barriers.

The royal couples walked along separately from one another, with William and Kate speaking to people on one side of the road and Harry and Meghan speaking to people on the other side of the road.

with PA

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