Charles III Formally Proclaimed King as New Era Begins in Britain

Tower Bridge in London
Amidst pomp and circumstances, during a historic televised Accession Council ceremony on Saturday, as King Charles III was officially proclaimed as Britain’s new monarch.
The new king’s reign was announced at an historic televised Accession Council ceremony that was televised from the throne room in St, James’s Palace in the presence of his Privy Council, a group that included all living former prime ministers of the United Kingdom.
The last Accession Council ceremony was held in 1952 for Charles’ mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, a ceremony witnessed by Sir Winston Churchill, then the current prime minister, among others in the Privy Council at the time.   It was not common at the time to televise such proceedings and there were relatively few television sets in people’s homes.
An Accession Council is traditionally called within 24 hours of the death of a British monarch.  It is typically held at St. James’s Palace, home to British monarchs for 300 years until the reign of Queen Victoria.
The council members watched on as King Charles signed an oath to guarantee the security of the Church of Scotland and declared the day of his mother’s funeral a national holiday.
King Charles was flanked by his son and heir apparent, Prince William.  Prince Harry, William’s brother, is fifth in the line of succession after William’s three children, but was not invited to the ceremony.
The Accession Council ceremony set off a flurry of activity throughout the land.
After the Privy Council meeting, the state trumpeters of the Household Cavalry heralded the new monarch from the balcony of the palace, followed by the Garter King of Arms’ announcement of the new monarch to the crowds below “with one voice and consent of tongue.”
The crowd shouted “God save the king” in unison in response and broke out in the national anthem.
“Three cheers for his majesty the king,” the Garter King of Arms said, at which point the King’s Guard solders, taking off their bearskin hats, shouted “Hip hip hurrah.” Next came gun salutes at the Tower of London and Hyde Park and additional proclamations announcing the king’s reign across the country.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)