Charles III proclaimed King to fanfare and gun salutes across Britain
As the United Kingdom and the world continue to mourn Queen Elizabeth, who passed away at the age of 96 on Thursday, her son Charles was proclaimed King by the Accession Council in the state apartments of St James’s Palace.
The historic session proclaiming Charles III as the new sovereign was followed by the reading of the Principal Proclamation from the palace's balcony, followed by fanfare and gun salutes throughout the country.
Charles, who spent seven decades as heir apparent, automatically became King after Queen Elizabeth's death, but the accession ceremony remains a key constitutional and ceremonial step in introducing the new monarch to the country.
Scores of senior politicians past and present, including Prime Minister Liz Truss and six of her predecessors, gathered in the ornate rooms at St. James's Palace for the meeting of the Council.
They met without Charles present in the chambers, officially confirming his title, King Charles III. The King joined them to make a personal declaration, vowing to follow his mother's "inspiring example" as he took on the duties of monarch.
"I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty which have now passed to me," he said.
Speaking of his personal grief, he said, "I know how deeply you and the entire nation, and I think I may say the whole world, sympathize with me in this irreparable loss we have all suffered."
The new King formally approved a series of orders — including one declaring the day of his mother's funeral a bank holiday. The date of the state funeral has not been announced, but it is expected to be around 19 September.
As this was the first accession ceremony that took place since 1952, when Queen Elizabeth II
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