New Delhi: A day after he vowed in his first speech to mourning subjects that he would emulate his “darling mama”, Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s Charles III will officially be proclaimed king in a ceremony on Saturday
The 73-year-old automatically became monarch upon the queen’s death Thursday, but an Accession Council ceremony at St James’s Palace early Saturday is a constitutional formality to recognise his sovereignty.
In a televised address on Friday, he hailed his mother’s “unswerving devotion” during her record-breaking seven decades on the throne. “Queen Elizabeth’s was a life well lived, a promise with destiny kept, and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today,” he said, NDTV reported quoting Reuters.
Prince and Princess of Wales
The new King also bestowed the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales on his eldest son William and daughter-in-law Kate, passing on the titles that he and his late wife Diana previously held.
“With Catherine (Kate) beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the centre ground where vital help can be given,” Charles said in his first address to the nation as sovereign.
God Save the King
Crowds massed outside Buckingham Palace both to mourn the queen and to wish Charles well, some of them shouting “God Save the King” as he greeted them on his return from Scotland on Friday. He is the oldest monarch to ascend to the British throne.
Charles will be formally proclaimed king by the Accession Council, comprising other royals and political and religious figures including Queen Consort Camilla, Prince William, Prime Minister Liz Truss and the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The centuries-old proceedings will be televised for the first time.
The council will first meet without Charles at 10:00 am (0900 GMT) inside St James’s Palace to proclaim him. Then he will join it to make a formal declaration as king and sign official documents.
The “principal proclamation” will be read to the public at 11:00 am from a balcony at St James’s Palace — which sits near Buckingham Palace — following a fanfare by three trumpeters.
It will then also be read out in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
‘His own person’
As Charles’s pre-recorded address was broadcast to the nation, dignitaries attended a remembrance service for his mother at St Paul’s Cathedral which saw the first official rendition of the updated national anthem “God Save the King”.
“Suddenly you feel that he’s his own person,” Barbara Lewis, a retiree from west London who was among several hundred mourners outside the cathedral was quoted as saying in the report.
The new king’s adult life has been lived in the shadow of his mother’s record-breaking reign, which encompassed a period of extraordinary change in Britain and around the world.
What Liz Truss said
Leading two days of tributes to the queen in parliament, Truss, appointed by the late monarch on Tuesday offered the nation’s support to Charles as she acknowledged the “awesome responsibility” now upon him. While the government has said there is no obligation on organisations to suspend business during its 10-day mourning period, many are doing so out of respect.
Everything has come to a halt
England’s Premier League postponed all matches this weekend, while railway and postal workers halted upcoming strikes over pay amid soaring inflation and spiralling energy prices gripping Britain.
Consistently popular
Elizabeth’s body is expected to remain at Balmoral before being taken to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Sunday. From the Scottish capital, her coffin is due to travel to London on Tuesday to lie in state for several days.
Officials expect more than one million people to file past the catafalque in Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the UK parliament complex, before the televised funeral service at Westminster Abbey opposite.
The funeral will be a public holiday in the form of a Day of National Mourning.
Charles’s coronation, an elaborate ritual steeped in tradition and history, will take place in the same historic surroundings, as it has for centuries, on a date to be fixed.
US President Joe Biden to Attend Funeral
US President Joe Biden said Friday that he will attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in Britain. “I don’t know the details yet, but I’ll be going,” he told reporters.
The date of the funeral has not been confirmed, but it is expected to take place in Westminster Abbey in London on September 19.
Queen Elizabeth To Remain On Canadian Currency “For Years To Come”
Queen Elizabeth’s image is featured on the backs of coins and on plastic-based C$20 ($15.28) bank notes that were first introduced in 2011. Those bills will remain in circulation, and the central bank said it’s up to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to decide if new notes will feature the image of her successor, King Charles III.
“The current polymer $20 bank note is intended to circulate for years to come. There is no legislative requirement to change the design within a prescribed period when the Monarch changes,” Paul Badertscher, spokesman for the Bank of Canada, said by email Thursday.
“As always, the Minister of Finance is responsible for approving the form and material of any new bank note, including the portrait subject,” he added.
