King Charles III Officially Proclaimed U.K.’s Monarch
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King Charles III was officially proclaimed the new monarch of the United Kingdom on Saturday, days after Queen Elizabeth II, his mother, died at the age of 96.
The official proclamation took place on the balcony above Friary Court, part of St. James’s Palace.
The Garter King of Arms, David Vines White, read the Principal Proclamation: “We therefore the Lord Spiritual and temporal of this realm and members of the House of Commons together with other members of late Her Majesty’s Privy Council, and representatives of the realm and territory, aldermen and citizens of London and others do now hereby with one voice and consent of tongue and heart publish and proclaim that the Prince Charles Philip Arthur George is now by the death of our late sovereign of happy memory become our only lawful and rightful liege lord, Charles the Third.”
Then state trumpeters sounded the royal salute and a military band played the national anthem, which has been updated to reflect the switch from a queen to a king and is now called “God Save the King.“
A Second Proclamation was then read at Royal Exchange in the financial district of London. Additional proclamations will be read tomorrow across the U.K.
Saturday’s ceremony was led by the Accession Council. The council, which is comprised of members of the monarch’s advisory Privy Council, only meets upon the death of a British monarch.
The ceremony came after the Queen “died peacefully” on Thursday. The King approved orders on Saturday to make the day of the queen’s state funeral a public holiday in the U.K.
He delivered his first address as king on Friday, expressing “feelings of profound sorrow” in a video stream from Buckingham Palace.
“Throughout her life, Her Majesty The Queen — my beloved Mother — was an inspiration and example to me and to all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family can owe to their mother,” he added.
The King gave his son, William, the title of Prince of Wales in the speech. William is the new heir to the throne.
The King’s wife, Camilla, has become Queen Consort.
