King Charles III has praised Welsh people's "sense of belonging", as he and Queen Camilla officially opened the Senedd's seventh term.
The visit marked the King's first official meeting with First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth following the Senedd election victory of Plaid Cymru - a party rooted in a strong republican tradition.
Wales' national poet did not take part in ceremony as had been planned, after Senedd officials rejected the poem she had written for the event and cancelled her performance.
Around 30 anti-monarchy protestors by the steps of the Senedd were vocal throughout the Royal visit, and one protester was arrested.
The King used his visit to the Senedd to say he would return to Wales next week to visit Aberfan, scene of the 1966 coal tip disaster, next week, and met a survivor who was pulled from the rubble aged six.
A 21-gun salute in Cardiff Bay marked the King's arrival in the city, and Plaid leader ap Iowerth greeted the King on the Senedd steps, together with the Presiding Officer Huw Irranca-Davies and the Labour Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock, who represented the UK government.
Addressing the Senedd chamber, the King said he had "always felt immensely privileged and proud to have had such a special connection with Wales, with its language, its culture and its landscape".
"The character and identity of Wales have always been built from the strength of its places, and the relationships of trust, service and neighbourliness found within them - that distinctively Welsh idea of connection, the profound connection between place, people, culture and belonging," he said.
He urged Senedd members to "bear always in mind" those shared strengths as they "take forward your task of government".
Ap Iorweth said the ceremony marked a "new chapter" for national democracy and that it was a Senedd opening "unlike any that has gone before it".
The Senedd expanded to 96 members ahead of May' elections, which represented a "significant moment in the continued evolution of Welsh democracy," said the first minister.
He said the parliament was "strengthened in its capacity to scrutinise" as a result of the change.
Irranca-Davies said his message for new Senedd members, elected in May, was that the "institution is at its best when we recognise that disagreement need not mean division".
"We will disagree, we should disagree, vigorous debate is part of a healthy democracy," he said.
"But we should never lose sight of what brings every one of us here: a shared responsibility to serve the people of Wales," he added.
Elizabeth II had opened every previous session of the Senedd before her death four years ago, her last one being 2021 when she had been joined by the current King and Queen.
Briefings to the media before the event had said a poetry reading would be made by the National Poet of Wales, Hanan Issa, at the ceremony.
On Wednesday, Issa posted to Instagram saying To Grow, the poem they submitted, was rejected on the grounds that the ceremony was "apolitical".
Among other issues, the poem referred to Gaza and trans healthcare, and Issa said a second version that used "more abstract language" was also rejected.
Issa said she had received a brief to "celebrate" Members of the Senedd (MSs) and their "achievements in being elected, while serving as a reminder of their commitment to the people of Wales".
"I'm disappointed more than anything. This is the chamber where political discussion is had, and this very much says that political discussion framed as a poem is not welcome," Issa added.
The Senedd commission said: "After a development process, we concluded that the poem was not the right fit for this occasion."
It added: "We respect the National Poet of Wales' artistic independence and continue to admire and value their work."
Held after an election takes place, the opening ceremony formally marks a new Senedd term.
The head of state attends in recognition of the Senedd's role in Welsh public life.
The late queen opened the first National Assembly for Wales - the previous incarnation of the Senedd - in 1999, and every post-election session until 2022.
The mace is a ceremonial staff used at formal parliamentary events.
It was gifted by the Australian New South Wales parliament for the building's opening in 2006, handcrafted from gold, silver and brass.
The Senedd building is 20 years old this year, having opened its doors in 2006. It expanded from 60 to 96 members at the May election.
