The procedure through which Charles’ succession to the throne is formalized: Queen Elizabeth, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, passed away on Thursday at 96. Her son Charles became the next king in her place.
Here is a description of the procedure that goes along with the coronation of a new king.
When the king passes away, Charles instantly ascends to the throne. At St. James’s Palace, the Sovereign’s formal home, an Accession Council call as soon as practicable, generally within 24 hours, to announce the successor.
Privy Counselors, who have counseled the king since the Norman period, make up the Council. They now number roughly 670 top politicians, including Liz Truss, the Prime Minister.
Along with the secular peers of the realm, the Lord’s Spiritual and Temporal bishops of the Church of England who sit in the House of Lords, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, are also present.
Penny Mordaunt, a contemporary politician, serves as the Council’s Lord President. Other members include the Lord Mayor of London, top public officers, and High Commissioners from the 14 other countries that also have the monarch as their head of state.
Although all privy counselors will invite, not all of them will be able to show up at the last minute. Following the passing of George VI in 1952, 191 people attended Elizabeth’s Accession Council.
The two sections of the Accession Council are as follows:
PART I
Council Clerk Richard Tilbrook reads the accession proclamation after the Lord President announces the monarch’s passing.
The proclamation signed by a group known as the platform party, which also consists of members of the royal family who are present, the prime minister, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Earl Marshal, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, Duke of Norfolk, who is in charge of planning official events.
The proclamation then sign, the Lord President declares a moment of quiet, and the Council conducts any remaining business, including giving instructions for the discharge of cannon at London’s Hyde Park and the Tower of London.
The Garter King of Arms, now David White, the senior herald in England, reads the proclamation after Part I of the Council from the Proclamation Gallery, a balcony above the Friary Court of St. James’s Palace. The yearly remuneration for this ceremonial position set at 49 pounds in the 1830s.
The Earl Marshal and other officials wearing traditional heraldic attire are with him.
Gun salutes signal the proclamation’s journey to Mansion House in the City of London, which is then read aloud at the Royal Exchange. Finally, the declaration read in public in Cardiff, Edinburgh, and the other major cities of the United Kingdom.
PART TWO
The new sovereign presided over Part II of the Accession Council, which does not usually come after Part I. Only Privy Counselors are present, and Charles makes a personal announcement about the queen’s death to start it off.
As required by the act of 1707, which united Scotland with England and Wales to establish Great Britain, he then swears to uphold the security of the Church of Scotland. Since 1714, every Sovereign has done this upon accession.
“I, Charles III, King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and My Other Realms and Territories, Defender of the Faith, do now faithfully promise and swear that I will inviolably maintain and preserve the Settlement of the true Protestant religion as established by the Laws made in Scotland in pursuit of the Claim of Right, and in particular by an Act titled “An Act for securing the Privy Seal.”
The new ruler then signs the two copies of the oath.
