AS IT HAPPENED
Issued on: Modified:
An historic Accession Council proclaimed Charles III as Britain’s new king on Saturday morning following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II aged 96. The Queen’s state funeral will take place on Monday 19 September, palace officials confirmed. Thank you for following our live blog. Read FRANCE 24’s live coverage of the day’s events.
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The council, televised for the first time, is a centuries-old formality to recognise the new king’s sovereignty even though he automatically became monarch after Queen Elizabeth II’s passing.
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Several hundred privy councillors including current Prime Minister Liz Truss and all of her living predecessors, Charles’s wife Camilla and his eldest son and heir William all attended the ceremony at St James’s Palace, London.
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King Charles III said his mother, who died on Thursday in Balmoral aged 96, “gave an example of lifelong love and of selfless service” that he promised to emulate. He added that he was “deeply aware” of the “duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty”.
