Key events
King Charles then gives permission for the proclamation to be circulated to the Kingdom and gives his oath to uphold the security of the Church of Scotland.
He sits down to sign and confirm that he has taken the oath. This is followed by Camilla, Queen Consort, and William, Prince of Wales.
The council has been brought to order, and the platform party has entered again, this time including King Charles.
Penny Mordaunt calls him to make his declaration.
King Charles says:
It is my most sorrowful duty to announce to you the death of my beloved mother the Queen. I know how deeply you and the entire nation and I think I may say the whole world sympathises with me in the irreparable loss we have all suffered. It is the greatest consolation to me to know of the sympathy expressed by so many to my sister and my brothers and as such overwhelming affection and support should be extended to our whole family in our loss. To all of us as a family.
“As to this kingdom and to the wider family of nations of which it is a part, my mother gave an example of lifelong love and of selfless service. My mother’s reign was unequalled in its duration, its dedication and its devotion. Even as we grieve we give thanks for this most faithful life. I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty which have now passed to me. In taking up these responsibilities I shall strive to follow the inspiring example I have been set in upholding constitutional government and to seek the peace, harmony and prosperity of the peoples of these islands, and of the commonwealth realms and territories across the world. In this purpose I know that I shall be upheld by the affection and loyalty of the peoples whose sovereign I have been called upon to be, and in the discharge of these duties, I will be guided by the council of their elected parliaments.
“In all this I am profoundly encouraged by the constant support of my beloved wife. I take this opportunity to confirm my willingness and intention to continue the tradition of surrendering the hereditary revenues, including the crown estate to the government for the benefit of all in return for the sovereign grant which supports my official duties as head of state and head of nation.
“In carrying out the heavy task that has been laid upon me, to which I dedicate what remains to me of my life. I pray for the guidance and help of almighty God.”
The attendees are now waiting for the King to enter for the second part of the ceremony, a meeting of the privy council.
The former prime ministers are seen at the front of the room.
A throne can be seen on the platform, which includes the Queen’s “ER” cypher. A new one is currently being designed that will be “CR”, Charles Rex.
The key signatures have been given. Mordaunt has given eight orders, following tradition, which would effectively ensure the news would be circulated across the kingdom.
This includes gun salutes, and an order that the proclamation be published in the London, Edinburgh and Belfast gazettes, historic publications.
The platform party has filed away, and the room is now emptying.
It’s the first time that women have been able to attend the accession council. Politicians including Angela Rayner, Andrea Leadsom and Rosie Winterton could be seen leaving.
The clerk of the council now speaks.
Whereas it has pleased almighty god to call to his mercy our late sovereign lady Queen Elizabeth the Second of blessed and glorious memory, by whose decease the crown of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is solely and rightfully come to Prince Charles Philip Arthur George.
We therefore, the lords spiritual and temporal of this realm, and members of the House of Commons together with other members of her late majesty’s privy council and representatives of the realms and territories, alderman, citizens of London and others, with one voice and consent of tongue and heart publish and proclaim that the Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, is now by our the death of our late sovereign of happy memory, become our only lawful and happy liege lord.
Charles III, by the grace of god of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of his other realms and territory, King, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith, to whom we do acknowledge all faith and obedience with humble affection, beseeching God by whom kings and queens do reign to bless his majesty with long and happy years to reign over us.”
He ends by saying “God Save the King,” which the members present return in unison.
The platform party now signs the proclamation, the Prince of Wales doing so first, followed by the Queen Consort.
The platform party is being led up, including William the Prince of Wales; Camilla, the Queen Consort; the prime minister, Liz Truss; the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the lord president, Penny Mordaunt, who is chairing the event.
“My lords, it is my sad duty to inform you that her most gracious majesty, Queen Elizabeth the second, has passed away on Thursday the 8th of September 2022 at Balmoral Castle,” Mordaunt begins.
The accession council is about to begin.
The first shot from inside St James’s Palace has been broadcast, showing British politicians and figures from past and present.
All six former prime ministers were captured gathered and in discussion along party lines. Former political party leaders Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband are present, as well as first minister Mark Drakeford.
Several members of the cabinet are in attendance, including James Cleverley, Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Ben Wallace.
Former archbishop of York, John Sentamu, could also be seen.
Accession council to meet to proclaim King Charles III
The accession council will meet shortly at St James’s Palace to proclaim King Charles III as the new sovereign.
The occasion will be attended by his son, William, who was appointed Prince of Wales yesterday evening by his father, who announced it during his address to the nation.
In a historic move, the ceremony will be televised for the first time. The 250 dignitaries is made up of privy counsellors and government ministers, along with former ministers, prime ministers and senior clergy. It will be presided over by Penny Mourdant, the lord president of the council.
The King will not be present for the first part of the council, but will then hold his first privy council, the UK’s oldest working legislative assembly.
Afterwards he will make his declaration about the Queen’s death and vow to preserve the Church of Scotland.
Roughly an hour after the council begins, the Principal Proclamation is read from the balcony at St James’s Palace. It is normally accompanied by a fanfare from the balcony and simultaneous gun salutes at Hyde Park and the Tower of London.
A second proclamation will be made at the Royal Exchange in the City of London, with further events in towns, boroughs and counties in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales on Sunday.
Flags will be flown at full mast after the Principal Proclamation, after being at flown at half mast since the Queen’s death was announced at 6:30pm on Thursday.
They will be lowered again an hour after the proclamations on Sunday.
Steven Morris
Despite King Charles announcing that William will become Prince of Wales, people are signing a petition calling for the abolition of the title, which is seen by some as a symbol of subjugation. By Saturday morning it had passed the 7,000 mark.
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford has said he looked forward to a deepening relationship with the new Prince and Princess of Wales.
He said: “King Charles III has enjoyed a long and enduring friendship with Wales. In his first public duty as monarch, at this most demanding of times, he has bestowed the title of Prince of Wales to his eldest son William. We look forward to deepening our relationship with the new Prince and Princess of Wales as they take on their new duties.”
Truss and former PMs arrive at St James’s Palace
All six living former prime ministers are expected to join current PM, Liz Truss, at the accession council this morning. They have just been pictured entering St James’s Palace.
For the privy council meeting in the second part of the ceremony, not all counsellors are allowed to attend.
There are more than 700 members of the privy council at the moment, but the Times has reported (paywall) that there has had to be a ballot for those who want to attend, but are no longer in the cabinet or active in public life due to limits on capacity.
An interesting note as we are half an hour away from the start of the accession council, which is that King Charles himself will not be there for the first section where he will be affirmed as the new sovereign.
His son William, the new Prince of Wales will be, but the dignitaries present will proclaim the new King.
The monarch will then join for the convening of his first privy council. He will make a declaration and swear an oath to uphold the security of the Church of Scotland.
The prime minister has just been shown leaving Downing Street for St James’s Palace, about a mile away in central London.
An aide to the late South African president Nelson Mandela said he enjoyed a “warm friendship” with Queen Elizabeth.
His former private secretary Zelda la Grange said Mandela once joked about her weight on a visit to Buckingham Palace. He gave her the special name Motlalepula, which means to come with rain and was given “as a token of affection” after a torrential rain-hit state visit.
Reuters reports:
“They had a very warm friendship,” Zelda la Grange, Mandela’s private secretary from 1994 to 2013, said Friday.
“They shared the sense of duty, the sense of service and a calling that they adhered to throughout their lives, and there was a deep respect between the two of them and I think that was the basis of the connection between the two people, having an appreciation for tradition within their own nations.”
In the years following his release from Robben Island prison and becoming South Africa’s first democratically elected president, Mandela cultivated a close relationship with the Queen, hosting her in South Africa and visiting her in England and at Buckingham Palace.
The two global icons often spoke to each other by phone and used their first names as a mutual sign of respect and affection, said the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
“There are a few anecdotes but what stands out is we were in Buckingham Palace once … Approaching the Queen, Mr. Mandela had a very wicked sense of humour. So, he walked up to the Queen and when he saw her he said: ‘Elizabeth, you’ve lost weight!’ and the Queen burst out laughing. I think he was the only person in the world who could comment on the Queen’s weight and get away with it,” La Grange said.
Severin Carrell
Hundreds of bouquets and tributes to the Queen have now been laid at the gate to Balmoral, including some hand-drawn portraits of the late monarch, a Paddington bear and a sketch of the Queen walking hand in hand with the famous refugee bear from Peru.
Some of the bouquets have been hand-tied with tartan ribbons, along
with an extract of a Robert Burns poem inscribed to “our gracious,
noble Queen”, reading: “my heart is in the Highlands, my heart is not
here. My heart’s in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer.”
With the early morning sun burning off the mist on Deeside,
Aberdeenshire council officials and Police Scotland are anticipating
significant crowds of well-wishers during the day at Balmoral, where
the Queen spent every summer on holiday. The council has put on
special bus services from the nearby villages of Braemar and Ballater,
with park and ride schemes set-up for visitors.
Diana, a military GP who lives locally, was one of the first
well-wishers to arrive on Saturday morning, with her two children. She had gone there “to show my fondness and respect for the Queen, and her family. Her service.”
On Sunday, a hearse bearing the Queen’s coffin is expected to travel
through Deeside villages, including Ballater, before being taken to
the palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, where it will remain
overnight before being taken to St Giles’ cathedral on the Royal Mile
to lie in state for one or two days.
Given King Charles’ long-standing interest in the environment, Fiona Harvey has examined whether he will be as green a king as he was a prince
In 1970, the young Prince of Wales made a speech warning of the dangers of pollution, and said society must deal urgently with the cost of cleaning it up, and preventing it in the first place.
“We are faced at this moment with the horrifying effects of pollution in all its cancerous forms. There is the growing menace of oil pollution at sea, which almost destroys beaches and certainly destroys tens of thousands of seabirds,” he told the Countryside Steering Committee for Wales. “There is chemical pollution discharged into rivers from factories and chemical plants, which clogs up the rivers with toxic substances and adds to the filth in the seas. There is air pollution from smoke and fumes discharged by factories and from gases pumped out by endless cars and aeroplanes.”
That speech, made when he was 21, was greeted as “dotty” at the time, he later recalled, but today seems prescient.
“He is possibly the most significant environmental figure of all time,” says veteran environment campaigner Tony Juniper, a former chief of Friends of the Earth.
Read more:
Our Scotland editor, Severin Carrell, is at Balmoral and has been looking at the floral tributes left by members of the public.
As part of the many changes after the death of the Queen, new Scout members have been making a pledge to King Charles.
For the last 70 years, the organisation’s “promise” has included a vow to “to do my duty to the Queen”.
However, four children in Chingford, north-east London, were among those promising to do their duty for the King on Friday evening.
Among those taking part was 11-year-old Molly Gilles. She told PA Media: “It’s weird saying it because I’m used to saying ‘queen’ and now you say ‘king’.
“I think he’s going to be a good person to take over the Queen.”
King Charles’s ascension to the throne has reignited a debate over whether the royal family deserves a global role in the 21st century, no more so than in the 14 Commonwealth realms where the British monarch remains the head of state, write Patrick Wintour and Oliver Holmes:
A legacy of empire and slavery that was entwined with British royalty for centuries has raised tough questions about the place of a foreign king, and republican movements from the Pacific to North America to the Caribbean will be assessing whether they should seize the moment.
Recent developments, notably Barbados becoming a republic in 2021 and removing Queen Elizabeth as its head of state, have also led to a crescendo that could now reach a climax.
While there are strong republican voices in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, Jamaica appears to be most likely to face the issue immediately, not least because appointing the new king might require a constitutional referendum.
On Friday, the main story on the front page of one of Jamaica’s leading newspapers, the Gleaner, said the Queen’s death would “make Jamaica’s break with monarchy easier”.
What will happen today
Miranda Bryant
Here is a guide to some of the key moments scheduled to take place today.
10am: Charles is proclaimed King at the accession council in the state apartments of St James’s Palace. This will be attended by his son William, whose new title is the Prince of Wales.
Others in attendance at the ceremony, which will be televised for the first time, will include privy counsellors and government ministers and possibly former ministers, prime ministers and senior clergy.
Afterwards, the King will hold his first privy council – the UK’s oldest working legislative assembly – accompanied by Camilla and William and will make his personal declaration about the Queen’s death and take an oath to preserve the Church of Scotland.
11am: Charles is proclaimed sovereign. The principal proclamation is read from the balcony at St James’s Palace overlooking Friary Court. The ceremony is usually accompanied by a fanfare from the balcony and simultaneous gun salutes at Hyde Park and the Tower of London.
Noon: A second proclamation will be made at the Royal Exchange in the City of London (further proclamations will be made on Sunday in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales).
2pm: Senior MPs expected to swear an oath of allegiance to the new King, with condolences continuing in parliament until 10pm. All MPs will have the opportunity to take the oath when parliament returns after the 10 days of national mourning, but it is not a formal requirement.