The Accession Council will be televised for the first time in history, Clarence House has confirmed. An Accession Council – the formal proclamation of Charles as King – will take place at St James’s Palace in London on Saturday at 10am
A Principal Proclamation will be read in public for the first time by the Garter King of Arms in the open air from the balcony overlooking Friary Court at St James’s an hour later at 11am. It will be followed by a flurry of Proclamations around the country, with the second one at City of London at the Royal Exchange at noon on Saturday, and further Proclamations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales at noon on Sunday.
The Palace said: “His Majesty The King will be proclaimed at the Accession Council at 10.00hrs tomorrow morning 10th September in the State Apartments of St James’s Palace, London. The Accession Council, attended by Privy Councillors, is divided into two parts. In Part I, the Privy Council, without The King present, will proclaim the Sovereign, and formally approve various consequential Orders, including the arrangements for the Proclamation.
“Part II, is the holding by The King of His Majesty’s first Privy Council. The King will make his Declaration and read and sign an oath to uphold the security of the Church in Scotland and approve Orders in Council which facilitate continuity of government.”
King Charles III will hold audiences, and the media will be briefed by the Earl Marshal, who is in charge of the accession and the Queen’s funeral, on the coming days. The Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge, who is a Privy Counsellor, will attend the Accession Council, Kensington Palace said.
Hundreds of privy counsellors are to miss the new King’s historic Accession Council after being dropped from the list of attendees due to lack of space and concerns over safety. All 700-plus privy counsellors – mostly present and past politicians – would traditionally be summoned to witness the formal proclamation of the death of the monarch and the accession of the successor to the throne, and the King’s first Privy Council.
But the rules were changed to limit numbers due to fears of overcrowding in St James’s Palace, causing consternation and anger among those cut from the ancient role. Although not all privy councillors are required to attend the Accession Council, which Buckingham Palace announced will take place at 10am on Saturday, this does not affect the constitutional process.
Numbers permitted to attend have been reduced to 200 – with senior politicians and members of the clergy prioritised – and the remaining 500 were asked to apply for an annual ballot for a small number of spare seats.
