Charles automatically became King on the death of the Queen but he will be formally proclaimed monarch at a historic Accession Council on Saturday.
The Accession Council usually takes place at St James’s Palace in London within 24 hours of the death of a sovereign but it will be later this time as the Queen's death was not announced until early evening and there was not time to set plans for Friday.
Historically, the entire Privy Council is summoned to the Accession Council to oversee the formal proclamation of a new monarch but with the number of privy counsellors – who are lifetime members and mainly politicians – now standing at more than 700, restrictions have been put in place.
