King Charles III has been confirmed as the new British monarch, Governor of the Church of England and Head of the Commonwealth in a solemn ceremony at St. James’s Palace, which has been televised live. Confirmation by the Privy Council is an ancient rite, which has merely symbolic relevance, because Carlos became king at the time of the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, last Thursday. The coronation in Westminster Abbey can take place in months.
“Prince Carlos Felipe Arturo Jorge now becomes, due to the death of our sovereign lady of happy memory, our King Carlos III. God save the king!” the Ascension Council proclaimed before the monarch himself was called into the room.
Before high-ranking politicians, judges, Anglican bishops, soldiers and his son Guillermo, and his wife, Camila, Carlos III pronounced a few brief words in the palace’s painting room – “my most painful duty” -, reporting the death of his mother and queen and stating that he knows “that you, the entire nation, and I think I can say the whole world, sympathize with me for the irreparable loss we have suffered”. “My mother’s reign was unmatched for its duration, dedication and devotion (…) I am deeply aware of this great heritage and the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty, which is now transmitted to me,” said the new sovereign. He pledged to abide by UK constitutional standards and signed a specific pledge to preserve the rights of the Church of Scotland, which in the Presbyterian version of him does not have the British monarch as its ruler. That protection dates back to the union of the crowns of England and Scotland in 1603.
Following a carefully crafted protocol long overdue, the courtier responsible for enforcing heraldic rules announced to the public from a palace terrace that the new king had been confirmed. His proclamation was read to the sound of royal trumpeters and in the presence of the royal guard in their ostentatious black bear hats, as well as a large group of onlookers.
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