It’s the end of an era. Thursday, September 8, the Queen of England Elizabeth II died at the age of 96, after more than 70 years of reign. His son, Charles Mountbatten, succeeds him on the de facto throne.
Aged 73, the new monarch will be proclaimed king on Saturday September 10 at a meeting of the Council of Succession, meeting in London, according to a press release from Buckingham Palace… In full mourning.
Indeed, in accordance with the protocol, the mourning of the royal family will last until seven days after the funeral of Elizabeth II, which should take place around December 19.
As of Thursday evening, the future sovereign split a first press release, expressing his pain in “a moment of great sadness”:
The pain is now mixed with the feeling of duty: the queen’s son became king the very second she breathed her last.
The Prince of Wales now takes the title of Charles III, and he must be addressed, or mentioned, by the predicate “His/Your Majesty”. But a coronation is not yet on the agenda: “The following days and weeks will be devoted to Elizabeth II and several weeks, or months, could pass before Charles III is crowned”, notes franceinfo.
In accordance with millennial tradition, however, the king should be crowned at Westminster Abbey (London) by the Bishop of Canterbury.
In the meantime, a first step will be taken on Saturday, with the proclamation of King Charles III. The Accession Board, made up of certain members of the Royal Family, the Prime Minister and several Ministers of State, two Church of England Archbishops, the Lord Mayor of the City, and the approximately seven hundred members of the monarch’s “privy council”, will meet at St. James’s Palace, London.
The proclamation will then be read outside the Palace and then at the Royal Exchange, a building in the City. King Charles’ wife, Camilla, will also be made queen consort. The flags, at half mast for the mourning of the queen, will then be temporarily raised at the top of the mast, a sign that the country has a new sovereign.
But what will the life of King Charles III look like? And what advantages will the monarch enjoy? Salaries, celebrations and unusual bonuses… Discover the list of privileges awaiting the Prince of Wales.
