The council is made up of Privy Counsellors, a select group of senior politicians including the new Prime Minister Liz Truss, religious figures from the Church of England, the Lord Mayor of London and a group of other leading civil servants from across British society and the 14 other ” kingdoms’, or nations, for which the monarch serves as the official head of state. From left, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, former prime ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Theresa May and John Major ahead of the Accession Council ceremony at St James’s Palace, London, 10 September 2022, where the King Charles III is officially proclaimed monarch. Kirsty O’Connor/AP While King Charles III became king immediately after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday after a record 70 years on the throne, it was the council’s role to officially recognize the death of a monarch and then to proclaim the new one on behalf of the British Government. It is part of Britain’s constitutional process. About 200 of the current Privy Counselors attended the proceedings in London on Saturday, including many former prime ministers and other senior politicians. The Privy Council is the oldest functioning department of the British government, dating back nearly 1,000 years. For the first time in the long history of the Accession Council, the two-part ceremony was broadcast live on television on Saturday.
William, Prince of Wales (left), Queen Consort Camilla (2nd left), Penny Mordaunt, Lord President of the Accession Council and British Prime Minister Liz Truss (4th from left), look on as other members of the Accession Council sign official proclamation confirming the beginning of the reign of King Charles III. CBS News via BBC In the first part of the ceremony, British MP Penny Mordaunt, Lord President of the council, announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and then the council clerk, Richard Tilbrook, read aloud a proclamation of accession. The proclamation was then signed by members of the council. For the second part of the council, King Charles attended the gathering at St James’s. Privy councilors watched as the new monarch read statements about his mother’s death and then vowed to serve his kingdom. Vowing to follow his mother’s “inspiring example”, Charles said he was “deeply aware of this great heritage and the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty which have now passed to me”. “I know how deeply you and the whole nation, and I think I may say the whole world, sympathize with me in this irreparable loss which we have all suffered,” he said of the Queen’s death.
From right, King Charles III, Camilla, the Queen Consort and Prince William during the Accession Council at St. James’s Palace, London, Saturday, September 10, 2022, where King Charles III is officially proclaimed monarch. (Victoria Jones/Pool Photo via AP) Victoria Jones / AP The new king then vocally approved a series of orders, including declaring the yet-to-be-confirmed date of his mother’s funeral a national holiday. It is expected to be held on or around September 19. As required by Britain’s constitution, Charles also declared that he loyally serves the Church of Scotland, of which he is also the official leader. He was then the first to sign two copies of this declaration, followed by his son and heir, William, Prince of Wales, and other witnesses. After the proceedings of the Council of Accession, the proclamation of King Charles as monarch was read aloud from the Proclamation Gallery, a balcony of St James’s Palace, by the Garter King of Arms, accompanied by other dignitaries — all wearing traditional dress. Trumpets sounded as the Garter King of Arms prepared to read the proclamation. The Garter King of Arms reads the official proclamation declaring King Charles III the new sovereign of the monarchy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in the Proclamation Gallery of St. James’s Palace in London, England, September 10, 2022. Reuters The proclamation, as read to the world by the Garter King of Arms, saw the assembled Privy Counselors and other members of the Council of Accession solemnly declare that they “do now with one voice and consent of tongue and heart, publish and declare that Prince Charles Philip Arthur George is now, on the death of our late Sovereign of happy memory, becoming our only lawful and lawful sovereign, Charles III., by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of all of His other Kingdoms and Realms, King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, to whom we acknowledge all Faith and Obedience with humble Affection, beseeching God by whom Kings and Queens reign, to bless his majesty many years to reign over us ». Another trumpet salute was then followed by a cry of “God save the king!” from those gathered in the courtyard under the Proclamation Arch. The crowd then sang the British national anthem, with the newly revised lyrics to ‘God save the king’. The ceremony was to be followed later in the day by gun salutes and public re-enactments of the proclamation at other locations in London and then in the capitals of the UK’s other home nations, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Belfast, Northern Ireland and Cardiff, Wales, among other locations in the 14 nations where Charles is the official head of state. The world pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II 41 photos The rest of King Charles’ third day in the job will include a series of official meetings — or “audiences,” as Buckingham Palace refers to them — with dignitaries such as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the prime minister and other cabinet members, and then leaders of Britain’s political opposition parties. The Proclamation of King Charles III as British Monarch Read 08:01 More Tucker Reals Tucker Reals is the foreign editor for CBSNews.com, based in the CBS News London bureau.