Palace announces plans for Charles III’s formal proclamation

Charles III will be formally proclaimed monarch at a historic Accession Council in the State Apartments of St James’s Palace at 10am on Saturday.

A Principal Proclamation will be read in public for the first time by the Garter King of Arms in the open air from the balcony overlooking Friary Court at St James’s an hour later at 11am.

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It will be followed by a flurry of Proclamations around the country, with the second one at City of London at the Royal Exchange at midday on Saturday, and further Proclamations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales at midday on Sunday.

The proclamation will be read in Newtown at 3:30pm on Sunday 11th September 2022 by Mayor, Cllr John Byrne at the steps of the Town Council Offices in Broad Street.

Charles has automatically become King on the death of his mother, but the Accession Council is usually convened at St James’s in London within 24 hours of the death of a sovereign.

It is being staged a day later for King Charles III because the announcement of the Queen’s death did not come until early evening on Thursday, meaning there was not enough time to set the plans in motion for Friday morning.

The Palace said:

“His Majesty The King will be proclaimed at the Accession Council at 10.00hrs tomorrow morning 10th September in the State Apartments of St James’s Palace, London.

“The Accession Council, attended by Privy Councillors, is divided into two parts. In Part I, the Privy Council, without The King present, will proclaim the Sovereign, and formally approve various consequential Orders, including the arrangements for the Proclamation.

“Part II, is the holding by The King of His Majesty’s first Privy Council. The King will make his Declaration and read and sign an oath to uphold the security of the Church in Scotland and approve Orders in Council which facilitate continuity of government.”

Historically, the entire Privy Council is summoned to the Accession Council to oversee the formal proclamation of a new monarch.

But with the number of privy counsellors – who are lifetime members and mostly past and present politicians – now standing at more than 700, restrictions have been put in place.

Just 200 will be summoned, and those cut will be asked to enter an annual ballot for a few remaining seats, with the decision prompting a row over the lack of consultation and the loss of the key duty.

This does not affect the constitutional process.

The Accession Council must take place before Parliament meets, and Parliament should meet as soon as practicable after the death of a sovereign.

The Accession Council is divided into two parts, and is presided over by the Lord President of the Council, who has ministerial responsibility for the Privy Council Office.

Penny Mordaunt was appointed Lord President of the Council, and Leader of the House of Commons, on September 6 in Liz Truss’s new Cabinet, in place of Mark Spencer, with the Queen officially approving the appointment.

Ms Mordaunt is yet to be “declared” Lord President at a Privy Council meeting because the event was postponed on Wednesday when the Queen was urged to rest.