King Charles III is today being proclaimed as head of state at a swathe of ceremonies across Britain and the Commonwealth – from Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Hillsborough castles, and the devolved parliaments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, to the far-flung capitals of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
The late Queen’s eldest son, who automatically became King upon his mother’s death at Balmoral Castle at the age of 96 on Thursday afternoon, was yesterday formally proclaimed at a historic ceremony in St James’s Palace in London, following a meeting of the ancient Norman-era Accession Council.
Proclamations are taking place in other parts of the UK, including the devolved parliaments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, at 12pm today.
In Edinburgh, huge crowds gathered down the Royal Mile as the King’s Body Guard for Scotland, known as the Royal Company of Archers, and the guard of honour marched from the Castle Esplanade to Mercat Cross. They were joined by soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland, where a drill is taking place in front of the cross in Edinburgh.
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Rain beat down on officials at the proclamation event in Hillsborough, as a 40-second fanfare was sounded by a bugler after the last round of the 21-gun salute was fired before the band of the Royal Irish Regiment then played one verse of God Save the King. Guests at the event – including Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, Northern Ireland Office minister Steve Baker, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long, Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie and Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister – joined together and said three cheers for Charles III.
And at Cardiff Castle, more than 2,000 people witnessed Wales Herald of Arms Extraordinary, Tom Lloyd, and the Lord-Lieutenant of South Glamorgan, Morfudd Meredith, read the proclamation of the new King in English and Welsh. Prior to the Proclamation, 26 men of the 3rd Battalion the Royal Welsh – supported by the Band of the Royal Welsh – were marching from City Hall at 11.25am along the Boulevard de Nantes, North Road and Duke Street to the castle. They were accompanied by the regimental mascot, a Welsh billy goat called Lance Corporal Shenkin IV, and Goat Major Sergeant Mark Jackson.
Charles has also been proclaimed King in cities across the Commonwealth. Speaking from parliament’s steps in Wellington, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a crowd that in the wake of the Queen‘s death, New Zealand had entered a time of change.
In Canberra, Governor General David Hurley, the monarch’s representative in Australia, proclaimed Charles with a 21-gun salute at Parliament House.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a national day of mourning for the Queen would take place on September 22, with the day to be a public holiday. He also announced that he would attend Her Majesty’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19.
As a mark of respect, national flags in Australia are at half-mast, parliament has been suspended and a giant portrait of the Queen has been displayed on the sails of the Sydney Opera House.
And in Ottawa, a 28-member band of the Canadian Armed Forces played God Save the King during a 21-run gun salute at a proclamation ceremony attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Though Canadians are somewhat indifferent to the monarchy, many had great affection for the Queen, whose silhouette marks their coins. She was the head of state for 45% of Canada’s existence and visited the country 22 times as monarch.
Flags on the castle and council buildings in Wales, which had been flying at half-mast, were returned to full-mast on Saturday, to coincide with the Reading of the Principal Proclamation of the new monarch in London. Flags will return to half-mast at 1pm on Sunday after the Proclamation is read in Cardiff.
The Senedd will also be recalled at 3pm to allow members to pay tribute to the Queen. All other business has been suspended until after the state funeral on Monday September 19.
The King and Queen are to visit Wales on Friday, having already attended ceremonies in Belfast and Edinburgh – as part of their trip around the UK, codenamed Operation Spring Tide.
While in the Welsh capital for the accession visit, the royal couple will take part in a service at Llandaff Cathedral alongside senior faith leaders from communities across the city. They will then head to the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, to receive a Motion of Condolence.
This will be followed by a reception at Cardiff Castle where First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, and the Speaker of the Senedd, Elin Jones, will get a private audience with the King.
The King and Queen will then meet members of the public who have gathered inside the castle grounds.
Yesterday King Charles paid tribute to the reign of the late Queen, ‘unequalled in its duration, its dedication and its devotion’, as he was formally declared the nation’s new monarch.
During a poignant and sombre meeting of the Accession Council, the King spoke movingly about his mother and the grief his family is experiencing, but said the ‘sympathy expressed by so many to my sister and brothers’ had been the ‘greatest consolation’.
Watched by the Queen, the new Prince of Wales and more than 200 privy counsellors – including six former prime ministers – the King pledged himself to the task now before him and the ‘heavy responsibilities of Sovereignty’.
His mother would be his guide for the years ahead as he strived to ‘follow the inspiring example I have been set in upholding constitutional government’, he added.
The day included a moment of pomp and pageantry with David White, Garter King of Arm, in his colourful regalia and flanked by other Officers of Arms and Sergeants at Arms, reading the proclamation of the new King from a balcony at St James’s Palace.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, the late Queen’s other children, Princess Royal, Duke of York and Earl of Wessex, and their families attended a service at Balmoral’s Crathie Kirk where their mother regularly worshipped.
Afterwards, Anne, her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and her children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips joined Andrew and his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and Edward and the Countess of Wessex with their daughter Lady Louise, at the gates of Balmoral Castle to look at floral tributes left for the late monarch.
Eugenie wiped away tears at one point and was hugged by her father Andrew, and returned the comforting gesture.
Charles began his momentous day by discharging the ‘sorrowful duty’ of announcing the death of his ‘beloved mother’, and told the council: ‘I know how deeply you, the entire nation – and I think I may say the whole world – sympathise with me in the irreparable loss we have all suffered.
