THE COUNTY of Berkshire and the town of Reading have proclaimed the accession of His Majesty King Charles III.
On Sunday, September 11, the High Sheriff of the Royal County of Berkshire, Alka Kharbanda, addressed members of the public to proclaim the accession of King Charless III to the throne, making a statement outside the Town Hall at 1pm.
She was joined by a number of councillors and politicians, including the mayor of Reading, Cllr Rachel Eden; Reading West MP, Alok Sharma; Reading East MP, Matt Rodda; and Thames Valley Police’s Chief Constable, Sir John Campbell.
In her address, High Sheriff, Alka Kharbanda, said: “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.
“It is that task which is High Sheriff of the Royal county of Berkshire and, in my humble duty, I will in a few moments discharged here today.
“After I have read the proclamation, the mayors and chairman of boroughs and districts within this county will be asked to read the proclamation in their own communities.”
The address was followed by the proclamation, followed by a chorus of God Save the King, and three cheers.
An hour later, at 2pm, the mayor of Reading, Cllr Rachel Eden, also gave the proclamation of the accession of the King to the residents of Reading.
She was joined by, among others, Cllr Jason Brock, and former mayor of Reading, Robert Dimmick.
In the proclamation, the mayor said: “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 Berkshire discharged that duty earlier today and now it is my solemn duty to bring the words of the proclamation to the citizens of Reading.
“The proclamation of the new sovereign is a very old tradition, which can be traced back over many centuries.
“This ceremony does not create a new King – I will be making a formal announcement of the accession which took place immediately on the death of the reigning monarch.
“Historically this proclamation would have been the means by which people learned for the first time that they had a new monarch.
“Today, this ceremony is instead an opportunity for our community to come together for the first time and reflect on this moment in our nation’s history.
“When the reign of our loved monarch came to an end, and our new sovereign succeeded with a Monarch visits Reading our mace which is the symbol of male authority is inverted in recognition of the authority of the crown.
“As I read this proclamation therefore, as you will see, the mace bearer has inverted the mace as a sign of recognition that the Crown has passed from our late sovereign to her successor and we recognise the sovereign’s authority.
“Ladies and gentleman, the proclamation of the accession: whereas it has pleased Almighty God, to call to his mercy, our late sovereign, the Lady Queen Elizabeth, the second of blessing 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, Alderman 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 not 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,
“The proclamation is as given at St. James’s Palace, on the 10th day of September, and the year of our Lord 2022.
“God save the King.”
Following the address, the mayor led members of the public in a chorus of God Save the King, followed by three cheers.
Speaking after the address, Cllr Eden said that she felt a level of personal shock after the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
“Like many people, and probably almost everyone, I felt an initial sense of shock and sadness on Thursday evening, just on a personal level.
“But I knew the outline what my duties would be, though I found out more because I expected this and I felt really it was important to come together as a community, and of course, it’s an official duty.
“We wanted to allow as many people as possible to be part of it, because people wanted to express a sense of community and come together
“And that’s what I felt – a great sense of unity, standing out on that stage and seeing all the faces I felt we’d come together, and I thought that was really important.”
Cllr Jason Brock said of the proclamation: “One’s aware of the fact we haven’t had to run an event of this sort for 70 years.
“So it’s a peculiar thing, with no institutional memory of it, but ultimately, it’s just very peculiar thing to be grieving the passing of our last monarch while still celebrating the accession of a new one, on a day for somber reflection.
“There’s a very long established protocol around these things that allows for the continuation of regular governments, so we will continue on as we ordinarily would do whilst of course being respectful of a period of grieving.”
