King Charles III officially proclaimed Britain’s new monarch

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From left, Britain's Prince William, Camilla, the Queen Consort and King Charles III, before Privy Council members in the Throne Room during the Accession Council at St James's Palace, London | AP

King Charles III, 73, has been officially proclaimed Britain’s new monarch on Saturday at a meeting of the Accession Council at St. James’ Palace in London.

“Prince Charles Philip Arthur George is now, by the death of our lady sovereign of happy memory, become our King Charles III … God save the king!” the televised Accession Council announced.

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, died at the age of 96 on Thursday, with her son Charles succeeding her as king.

At the Accession Council meeting, the King paid tribute to the late Queen. “My mother gave an example of lifelong love and of selfless service. My mother’s reign was unequalled in its duration, dedication and devotion. Even as we grieve, we give thanks for this most faithful life. I am deeply aware of this deep inheritance and of the grave duties and responsibilities which are now passed to me,” he said.

King Charles was joined by his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, and his son and heir Prince William the new Prince of Wales.

The King had travelled back from Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Friday, where the Queen’s health deteriorated and she breathed her last.

Flags lowered atop the palace in mourning for the late Queen were brought back up to full mast after the Accession Council proclamation, which followed a wave of further proclamations across the UK to go into Sunday when flags will return to half-mast in a state of mourning for the Queen.

“As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation,” Charles said in his first televised address as King on Friday evening.

“And to my darling Mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: thank you. Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years. May flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest’,” he said.

A Principal Proclamation was read in public for the first time by the Garter King of Arms from the balcony overlooking Friary Court at St James’s Palace, accompanied by a 41-gun salute fired by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery at Hyde Park in London.

The Privy Council, which includes politicians, senior members of the clergy and Supreme Court justices, first gathered without the King to proclaim the new monarch and arrange business relating to the proclamation.

Following the proclamation, King Charles III held his first Privy Council meeting and made his personal declaration to “assume the duties and responsibilities of sovereignty” and follow in the footsteps of his late mother.

On Friday, the King held his first audience with British Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace, soon after he was greeted with applause and cheers by large crowds gathered at the palace gates in mourning for the Queen and to catch a glimpse of the new monarch and his Queen Consort.

It was so touching to see so many people It’s a moment I’d been dreading, but one must try and keep going, Charles was heard saying to Truss, in a brief clip released of his first audience as the Prime Minister expressed her condolences.

While formal details are to be released by Buckingham Palace, it is expected that the Queen will lie in state at Westminster Hall in London for the public to pay their respects. In the coming days, the Queen’s coffin will depart her Balmoral estate for the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. From here, it will be taken in procession to St. Giles’ Cathedral in the city, where the Queen will lie at rest, allowing the public to view her coffin.

The coffin will then move to London, ready for lying in state for around four days before her funeral.

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