Hundreds of people gathered in the centre of Bath yesterday, Sunday 11th September, to witness the local proclamation of King Charles III.
The proclamation at the Guildhall in Bath | Photo © Jane Williams / Bath and North East Somerset Council
The Chair of Bath & North East Somerset Council, Councillor Shaun Stephenson-McGall, made the proclamation on the steps of the Guildhall.
Residents and visitors came together on the High Street to watch the historic moment, remembering the service given by HM Queen Elizabeth II and announcing the accession which took place when the reigning monarch passed away.
Speaking at the event, Councillor Stephenson-McGall said: “We come together this afternoon following the passing of our late Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth the Second.
“Our sadness at this time is shared by people across the globe, as we remember with affection and gratitude the lifetime of service given by our longest-reigning Monarch.
Crowds gather at the Guildhall | Photo © Jane Williams / Bath and North East Somerset Council
“Here in Bath & North East Somerset we held Her Majesty in great esteem and it was our immense good fortune to be visited by her a number of times – including for her silver jubilee year in 1977 and for her Golden Jubilee in 2002.
“Many people will have personal memories of those visits and we give thanks for all she did for our country during her long and illustrious reign.
Photo © Jane Williams / Bath and North East Somerset Council
“But the basis on which our monarchy is built has ensured that through the centuries the Crown has passed in an unbroken line of succession.
“Today’s ceremony marks the formal Proclamation to the people of the Bath & North East Somerset of the beginning of our new King’s reign.
“Yesterday the Accession Council met at St. James’s Palace to proclaim our new Sovereign. The flags which had flown at half-mast since The Queen’s death were raised briefly to their full height to mark the start of His Majesty’s reign.
“The Accession Council also made an Order requiring High Sheriffs to cause the Proclamation to be read in the areas of their jurisdiction. The High Sheriff of Somerset discharged that duty earlier today and now, with my humble duty, I now bring the words of the Proclamation to the residents of Bath & North East Somerset.
Paying tribute at Parade Gardens | Photo © Jane Williams / Bath and North East Somerset Council
“The proclamation of the new Sovereign is a very old tradition which can be traced back over many centuries.
“The ceremony does not create a new King. It is simply an announcement of the accession which took place immediately on the death of the reigning monarch.
“In an age where modern methods of communication convey news around the globe in an instant, the proclamation is no longer the means by which people learn for the first time that they have a new Monarch. Today, however, is one of the first occasions when communities have an opportunity to come together and reflect on the moment in our nation’s history when the reign of our longest-serving Monarch came to an end and our new Sovereign succeeded.
“There is a tradition that when the Monarch visits a district, the Mace is inverted in recognition of the authority of the Crown. In today’s ceremony the Mace will be inverted as a similar signal of recognition that the Crown has passed from our late Sovereign to her Successor.
Ladies and Gentlemen. The Proclamation of the Accession
“Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy our late Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth the Second of Blessed and Glorious Memory, by whose Decease the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is solely and rightfully come to The Prince Charles Philip Arthur George:
“We, therefore, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of this Realm and Members of the House of Commons, together with other members of Her late Majesty’s Privy Council and representatives of the Realms and Territories, Aldermen and Citizens of London, and others, do now hereby with one voice and Consent of Tongue and Heart publish and proclaim that The Prince Charles Philip Arthur George is now, by the Death of our late Sovereign of Happy Memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories, King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, to whom we do acknowledge all Faith and Obedience with humble Affection; beseeching God by whom Kings and Queens do reign to bless His Majesty with long and happy Years to reign over us.
“Given at St. James’s Palace this tenth day of September in the year of Our Lord twenty thousand and twenty-two.
“God save The King.”
Following the proclamation, flowers were laid in Parade Gardens, joining tributes made by members of the public in the days before.
