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Reports that up to 100 staff at King Charles III’s former residence could lose their jobs have drawn criticism of the British monarchy, within days of his accession to the throne.

The Guardian newspaper reported Tuesday that dozens of staff at Clarence House, Charles’ former official residence, were given notice that their jobs were on the line.

The report said the notices came in the midst of a busy period of transition as Charles and his wife Camilla, the queen consort, move to Buckingham Palace after Queen Elizabeth II’s death on Thursday.

EXPLAINED: What we know about Queen Elizabeth II's funeral

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The Public and Commercial Services Union called the royals’ decision to inform staff of job cuts during a period of mourning “nothing short of heartless”.

“While some changes across the households were to be expected, as roles across the royal family change, the scale and speed at which this has been announced is callous in the extreme,” the union’s general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said

Britain is in a national period of mourning until Monday, when the queen’s state funeral will be held.

In a statement, Clarence House said that following Charles’ accession, operations of his and Camilla’s household “have ceased” and “as required by law, a consultation process has begun”.

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“Our staff have given long and loyal service and, while some redundancies will be unavoidable, we are working urgently to identify alternative roles for the greatest possible number of staff,” the statement added.

The Guardian said one unnamed member of Charles’ staff told the newspaper that “everyone is absolutely livid … people were visibly shaken by it”.

The criticism added to negative press for the 73-year-old monarch after two videos showing him visibly irritated by a leaky pen and a pen holder went viral on social media in recent days.

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In one video, Charles was seen losing his temper at a leaking pen while he was signing a visitors' book in front of cameras in Northern Ireland, where he was visiting Tuesday on the latest leg of his royal tour of the UK’s four nations.

Charles was heard exclaiming “Oh god I hate this” and muttering “I can’t bear this bloody thing … every stinking time”.

The video came after another pen-related incident on Saturday, when the new monarch was seen gesturing in irritation at his staff when a pen holder got in his way as he signed a document during his accession ceremony.

Charles has been under intense media scrutiny and had a gruelling schedule since his mother’s death in Scotland on Thursday.

He and Camilla flew from Scotland to London for his accession ceremony and a visit to Parliament to address legislators, before flying back to Scotland where he walked behind the queen’s coffin.

He then jetted to Northern Ireland on Tuesday and returned to London the same night, in time for the procession of the queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall on Wednesday.

Wall Street has steadied after tumbling to its worst day in two years on fears about higher interest rates and the recession they could create.

The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in early Wednesday trading after drifting between small gains and losses.

So was the Dow, a day after losing more than 1250 points.

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Wall Street's bloodbath meant the Australian share market plunged almost 2.6 per cent within minutes of opening on Wednesday.

The ASX dropped after the US revealed higher-than-expected inflation data, further prompting fears of greater interest rate hikes.

High interest rates typically causes consumer spending to fall and may have a negative effect on consumer-facing businesses.

A report on inflation at the wholesale level showed prices are still rising rapidly, with pressures building underneath the surface, even if overall inflation slowed.

It echoed a US report on inflation at the consumer level Tuesday, which raised expectations for interest-rate hikes and triggered a rout for markets.

China and US relations impact markets

Tensions between the US and China also weighed on markets. Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are due to meet later in the week, underscoring the warming ties between the two authoritarian governments as the West pushes ahead with sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

The meeting will take place Thursday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The US is meanwhile reportedly considering new sanctions against Beijing aimed at deterring aggression against Taiwan, a self-governed island democracy that China claims as its own territory.

World markets by the numbers

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 2.3 per cent to 18,875.59 and the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.8 per cent, to 3,237.54.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.8 per cent to 27,818.62, while Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 2.6 per cent to 6,828.60.

In Seoul, the Kospi lost 1.6 per cent to 2,411.42.

On Tuesday, the Dow lost more than 1,250 points and the S&P 500 sank 4.3 per cent after Tuesday’s hotter-than-expected report on inflation. The Nasdaq composite closed 5.2 per cent lower.

Bond prices also fell sharply, sending their yields higher.

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What is happening with the US rate rise?

Traders now see a one-in-three chance the Fed may hike its benchmark rate by a full percentage point next week, quadruple the usual move.

The Fed has already raised its federal funds rate four times this year, with the last two increases by three-quarters of a percentage point.

The rate is currently in a range of 2.25 per cent to 2.50 per cent.

Higher rates hurt the economy by making it more expensive to buy a house, a car or anything else usually purchased on credit.

Mortgage rates have already hit their highest level since 2008, creating pain for the housing industry.

The hope is that the Fed can pull off the tightrope walk of slowing the economy enough to snuff out high inflation, but not so much that it creates a painful recession.

Tuesday's data casts doubt on hopes for such a “soft landing.” Higher rates also hurt prices for stocks, bonds and other investments.

Expectations for a more aggressive Fed have also helped the dollar add to its already strong gains for this year.

The US dollar has been surging against other currencies in large part because the Fed has been hiking rates faster and by bigger margins than many other central banks.

The Queen's final departure from Buckingham Palace was always going to conjure up comparisons to Princess Diana's funeral procession.

Twenty-five years ago, behind a gun carriage carrying Diana's coffin, Princes William and Harry walked alongside their father Charles, then the Prince of Wales.

Today, in moving scenes, grief drew all three together again.

William and Harry were just boys in 1997.

Today, as men, they accompanied their father, now a King.

And though the palace might have wished otherwise, the eyes of the world could not help but watch the two brothers closely.

Was there evidence of unity, or perhaps the rift which has driven the two apart in recent years?

On a slow, 38-minute procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, watched by millions worldwide, William and Harry walked stoically together, side-by-side.

But in plain sight, too, were the consequences of Prince Harry and Meghan's acrimonious split from the royal family, and their public attacks on The Firm since.

For the procession, King Charles, Prince William, Princess Anne and Prince Edward had all stepped out in traditional military regalia.

Prince Harry and Prince Andrew did not. Or rather, were not allowed.

Instead, both wore morning suits.

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For the Queen's funeral, the palace decided only working members of the royal family who hold military rank could wear their military uniforms.

The rule will surely have rankled Harry, who served in the British Army for 10 years and deployed twice to Afghanistan.

Prince Andrew, who served in the Royal Navy for 22 years, lost his uniform privileges because of his damaging friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and financial settlement to end a civil case.

As the procession edged past The Cenotaph, King Charles, William, Anne and Edward all saluted the iconic London war memorial.

Notably, Prince Harry and Prince Andrew did not.

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Both were not allowed to perform a salute, as they weren't wearing military uniform.

All they could do was bow their heads.

Days earlier, crowds who had gathered outside Windsor Castle were surprised to see William, Catherine, Harry and Meghan suddenly together again.

The "Fab Four" arrived in the same car and spent 40 minutes greeting mourners and looking at flowers left for their grandmother.

It was the first time the brothers had been seen alongside one another since last year's funeral of Prince Philip, the Queen's husband.

READ MORE: Mammoth queue of mourners 'stretches 16km'

The mood between the group appeared friendly.

The world's media wondered if a truce had been brokered.

And if a peace had been reached, how long might it last.

The answer to those questions will become clear over the coming months.

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The King and his siblings wore military uniforms but some other royals were not allowed to.

Queen Elizabeth II's coffin will move from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall as London mourns the late monarch ahead of her state funeral.

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