United Kingdom: Carlos III is formally proclaimed king (+ Video)

The accession to the throne of Carlos III was made official in a ceremony held this Saturday at the Palace of St. James, in central London. Carlos became king immediately after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, but it was not until this Saturday that his new role was officially…

King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort, and William, the new Prince of Wales, during the proclamation ceremony at St. James's Palace.

Photo: Pa Media.

The accession to the throne of Carlos III was made official in a ceremony held this Saturday at the Palace of St. James, in central London.

Carlos became king

immediately after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II,

but it was not until this Saturday that his new role was officially confirmed.

The monarch was proclaimed by the Ascension Council and sworn in during an elaborate and traditional ceremony, which had not been held in more than seven decades.

During the event, which was televised for the first time in history, the flags, which had been lowered to half-staff in mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth, were hoisted again to celebrate the new king.

More proclamations will take place across the UK until Sunday, when flags will again be lowered to half-staff during the period of mourning following the Queen's death on September 8.

How was the ceremony?

The event is divided into two parts, and the king is only present in the second part.

In the first part, the president of the Privy Council - in this case the parliamentarian Penny Mordaunt, recently appointed by the current Prime Minister Liz Truss - made the death of Elizabeth II official.

Then the secretary of the Council read aloud the text of the Ascension Proclamation, including the title chosen by Carlos as king, Carlos III.

The proclamation is signed by a group including

the Queen Consort, the Prince of Wales, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, the Archbishop of York and the Prime Minister

Before the signing, the assistants pronounced the "God save the king".

The king entered for the second part of the Council, which is attended only by privy councillors.

In it he gave a personal statement about the queen's death.

"It is my most painful obligation to announce the death of my dear mother, the queen," he said.

"I know how deeply you, the entire nation - and I would say the entire world - sympathize with me in this irreparable loss that we have suffered."

"The sympathy expressed by so many people to my sister and brothers

is my greatest consolation.

And that overwhelming love and support should be extended to our entire family in our loss."

He also paid tribute to Camila, the queen consort.

"I am deeply encouraged by the constant support of my loving wife," she said.

The king and queen consort.

Photo: Pa Media.

What is the Ascension Council and who forms it?

The Ascension Council is a ceremonial body that meets after the death of a monarch to make the formal proclamation of the successor's ascension to the throne.

Historically (since the time of the Norman kings), all members of the so-called Privy Council participate in the council, which is made up of a group of high-ranking politicians who formally advise the monarch, the mayor of the City of London and important judges and officials.

The Privy Council dates back to the early years of the monarchy, when it was made up of those appointed by the king or queen to advise them on matters of state.

There are currently about 700 members - most of them politicians from the past and present - but only 200 of them participated this Saturday to sign the proclamation.

They include former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson, Theresa May, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major.

Also in attendance were the queen consort, Camilla, and the king's son, William, the new Prince of Wales.

Charles III's proclamation

was also read in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast

, the capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively.

The oath

The new monarch is required to take an oath to preserve the safety of the Church of Scotland on his accession.

In Scotland there is a division of powers between Church and State, each supreme in its own sphere.

The Church governs itself in all that concerns its own activities.

Its supreme authority is the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, chaired by a moderator elected each year by the Assembly itself.

This oath has been proclaimed by all monarchs during their accession,

since George I in 1714.

The king signed two documents of the oath to record it, with the queen consort and the prince of Wales among the witnesses to his signature.

This was followed by the first public proclamation from the balcony of the Friary Court of St. James's Palace, by an official known as the Chief Garter King of Arms, accompanied

by a centenary spectacle,

with trumpeters blowing a fanfare and sounded the national anthem, with the words "God save the king" and not "God save the queen" for the first time since 1952.

There were also 41 salvos fired from Hyde Park and 62 at the Tower of London.

Following the completion of the St. James ceremony, the proclamation was read in the City, London's financial district.

Now it may be some time before the coronation of Carlos III takes place, which will be

the great symbolic moment of his accession to the throne.

Some 16 months elapsed between the death of Queen Elizabeth's father, King George VI, in February 1952 and his coronation in June 1953.

The prime minister was also present at the ceremony.

Photo: BBC.

Analysis by Sean Coughlan, Royal Household Correspondent

The new king paid warm tribute to his mother, but this was the moment when Charles began to think about the future of his own reign.

Before the ranks of the Ascension Council, King Charles vowed to spend the rest of his life serving as monarch.

It was a mixture of ritual, ornate language and constitutional practicality.

Carlos

is now the head of state

and this was the symbolic and uneventful handover from one reign to the next, with oaths and signatures.

The inkwell used for it had been given to him by his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

The announcements also confirmed that the day of the queen's state funeral

will be a public holiday.

But here was the king publicly assuming his new responsibilities, promising to follow the queen's example.

It was a choreography of continuity.

What will the coronation be like?

For the last 900 years the coronation has been held in

Westminster Abbey

William the Conqueror was the first monarch to be crowned there and Charles III will be number 40.

It is an Anglican religious service, officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

At the height of the ceremony, the archbishop will place the crown of St. Edward on Charles's head, a solid gold piece dating from 1661.

The crown is the main piece of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London and is only worn by the monarch at the time of coronation (especially given its weight of 2.23kg).

Unlike royal weddings,

the coronation is a state event

, and the government pays for it and ultimately decides the guest list.

There will be music, readings and the anointing ritual of the new monarch, using orange oil, roses, cinnamon, musk and ambergris.

The new king will take the coronation oath in front of an

expectant world

During this ceremony he will receive the orb and scepter as symbols of his new role and the Archbishop of Canterbury will place the solid gold crown on his head.

The proclamation from the balcony of the Friary Court of St. James's Palace by an official known as the Chief Garter King of Arms.

Photo: Getty Images.

Labor leader Keir Starmer and former Prime Ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Theresa May and John Major were among those in attendance.