UPDATE – a list of London council’s reading the Proclamation on Sunday is at the bottom of this article.
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A ceremonial event will take place in the City of London on Saturday when the formal Proclamation announcing a new King will be read out in public.
It’s an ancient tradition from the days before mass media, that major events would be read out aloud in public, and major state events are usually proclaimed in the City of London from the steps in front of the Royal Exchange.
A proclamation being read in 2010
The procedure is that an Accession Council, made up of members of the Privy Council but also the Lord Mayor and High Sheriffs of the City of London, will meet at St. James’s Palace at 10am tomorrow (Saturday) to formally announce the death of the Monarch and proclaim the succession of King Charles III. It has also been announced by Clarence House that the Accession Council will be broadcast on television for the first time ever.
After the meeting of the Accession Council, and the Principal Proclamation has taken place there — at around 11am — a copy of the Proclamation is sent to major cities, and in the City it will be read out loud on the steps of the Royal Exchange on Saturday.
The reading aloud of the proclamation will take place at noon, and it will be read aloud by Timothy Duke, the Clarenceux King of Arms, in the presence of the Lord Mayor, Court of Aldermen, High Officers and Members of Common Council.
It’s expected to be broadcast on TV, although the public will be able to attend as well from viewing areas. If arriving, the entrances and exits to Bank tube station in front of the Royal Exchange steps will be closed, so you will need to use one of the other exits.
The reading of the Proclamation is likely to be fairly short, but its historic importance belies its brevity.
These days, there are three situations where a proclamation could be read aloud — the accession of a new monarch, a declaration of war, and suspending Parliament for a new election.
Reading the proclamation summoning a new Parliament might not be a legal requirement anymore, as the law changed in 2011 when elections were given fixed dates. Although that law was repealed this year, it’s not clear if the requirement to read the Proclamation in public was restored. Fortunately, the City loves traditions, and even though recent elections didn’t require it, the City still read the Proclamations out loud.
A declaration of war hasn’t happened since 1942, and the procedure is considered redundant due to changes in international law.
However, tomorrow (Saturday 10th September 2022), a Proclamation announcing a new King will be read out loud on the steps of the Royal Exchange.
Further Proclamations will be read in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales at noon the following day Sunday 11th September.
The Proclamation will also be read in other London locations on Sunday – Councils confirmed so far are:
Barking and Dagenham – 1pm – CUC Civic Centre, Dagenham
Barnet – 2pm – Hendon Town Hall
Bexley – 2pm – Civic Offices, Bexleyheath
Brent – 4pm – The steps of Wembley Stadium
Bromley – 2pm – Front Lawn of the Old Palace at Bromley Civic Centre
Camden – 2pm – Russell Square
Croydon – 2pm – Town Hall
Ealing – 2pm – Ealing Town Hall
Enfield – 2pm – Civic Centre
Greenwich – unknown
Hackney – 2pm – Hackney Town Hall
Hammersmith and Fulham – unknown
Haringey – 2:30pm – George Meehan House
Harrow – 2pm – Outside the Civic Centre
Havering – unknown
Hillingdon – 4pm – Civic Centre
Hounslow – 2pm – Holy Trinity Church, Hounslow High Street
Islington – unknown
Kensington & Chelsea – 2pm – Exhibition Road entrance to the V&A Museum
Kingston – 4pm – In front of the Guildhall
Lambeth – 2pm – Windrush Square, Brixton
Lewisham – unknown
Merton – 4pm – Merton Civic Centre
Newham – 2pm – Old Town Hall, Stratford
Redbridge – 2pm – Ilford Town Hall
Richmond upon Thames – 2:30pm – York House in Twickenham
Southwark – 3pm – Southwark Cathedral
Sutton – unknown
Tower Hamlets – unknown
Waltham Forest – 3pm – Fellowship Square
Wandsworth – 2:30pm – Wandsworth Town Hall
Watford – 4pm – Peace Memorial by the Town Hall
Westminster – 2pm – Old Marylebone Town Hall
I thought the proclamation was read from the ramparts of the Tower of London! Maybe I’m a few centuries out of date though!
Who were the people on the steps of the royal exchange for the proculmation? Who was the cleric in black? The man with big fur hat????