King Charles III: Charles 'officially proclaimed' the new King
- Published
King Charles was made King when Queen Elizabeth died and had his official proclamation today
This morning King Charles was formally proclaimed as the new King.
After Queen Elizabeth died, the title of monarch automatically passed over to Charles, making him King Charles III.
Today, at St James' Palace, in London, an historic process took place to mark Charles as King.
It's called the Accession Council, and happens every time a new monarch is put on the throne.
What is the Accession Council?
The historic St James' Palace where crowds waited for the announcement
The Accession Council is the official announcement of Charles being the new King.
It happens every time we get a new monarch - and for the the first time it happened live on TV. King Charles made the decision that it should be televised.
It used to be the main way people found out that there was a new king or queen, before we had the internet or broadcast news to tell us what was going on.
Who was there?
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer next to three former prime ministers, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Boris Johnson
The Accession Council is made up of people close to the monarch - the Royal Family, the prime minister, top politicians and the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Former prime ministers, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, and David Cameron also attended.
What happened today?
Prince Charles stood next to his throne with Camilla and Prince William up with him
The Accession Council met first, without the new King, to formally announce the death of the Queen and to proclaim the accession of the new Sovereign (the new King taking over).
At 10am King Charles made a personal declaration in front of the Accession Council.
King Charles also announced the death of Queen Elizabeth - his mother - in front of the Accession Council. He then signed a special document - called the proclamation.
He took time to look back on his mother's time as Queen, and thanked her for her "lifelong love".
* Trumpets played a royal salute to announce the King was coming out onto the balcony.
* The royal guards gave a special salute to mark the new King.
* The flags that had been at half-mast, for the Queen's death, were fully raised.
* The new national anthem was performed - with the new words of "God Save our King"
The proclamation
King Charles signing the proclamation
The Accession Proclamation is the official announcement of the name of the new King. This was presided over (or led) by the "Lord President of the Council" - which is MP Penny Mordaunt.
Her role was chosen by Prime Minister Liz Truss, when she took up her role on Tuesday.
The proclamation is then signed by senior politicians, senior judges and officials, and the Lord Mayor of the City of London.
This is another historic tradition. Everyone who signs the proclamation is a part of the Privy Council - a group of people who advise the King.
What happened next?
The Heralds played at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee
The next part of the proclamation took place outside, on the balcony of St James' Palace.
Large crowds had gathered outside the palace to welcome in King Charles.
The proclamation was read out to the crowd by the Garter King of Arms. He's the senior herald - and all heralds wear a traditional uniform.
Crowds then cheered "God Save the King" - to welcome King Charles to his new role.
- Published10 September 2022
- Published19 September 2022
- Published10 September 2022
