Accession Council

COMPOSITION

It is made up of Privy Council lors, Members of the House Of Lords , the Lord Mayor Of London , the Aldermen of the City Of London and the High Commissioner s of some Commonwealth countries. The Council meets in St. James's Palace and makes a formal proclamation of the accession of a new monarch, and receives an oath from him or her to uphold the Church Of Scotland . This proclamation, though traditional, has no legal force as the succession will have passed automatically to the new monarch under the terms of the Act Of Settlement 1701 .

THE PROCLAMATION AND OATHS

The Council's Proclamation of Accession, which confirms the name of the heir, is signed by all the attendant Privy Counsellors. The Proclamation is traditionally read out at several traditional locations in London , Edinburgh , Windsor , and York . It is also read at a central location in each town or village. The proclamation is usually worded:

Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy our late Sovereign Lord King/Lady Queen N (the #th) of Blessed and Glorious Memory by whose Decease of this Realm, being here assisted with these of His/Her late Majesty's Privy Council, with representatives of other members of the Commonwealth, with other Principal Gentlemen of Quality, with the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of London, do now hereby with one voice and Consent of Tongue and Heart publish and proclaim that the High and Mighty Prince/ss N is now, by the Death of our late Sovereign of Happy Memory, become King/Queen N (the #th), by the Grace of God King/Queen of This Realm and of all His/Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth , Defender of the Faith , to whom His/Her lieges do acknowledge all Faith and constant Obedience, with hearty and humble Affection; beseeching God, by whom Kings and Queens do reign, to bless the Royal Prince/ss N (the #th) with long and happy Years to reign over us.

The proclamation is not always worded consistently; for instance, on the accession of George VI , the proclamation had to be reworded because Edward VIII had Abdicate d, rather than died, and " Emperor of India " was added at the end of the list of titles until that title was relinquished by George VI.

The new Sovereign, who is traditionally present, takes an oath to preserve and defend the Church Of Scotland . ( Queen Elizabeth II was in Kenya when she acceeded to the throne, and the Accession Council therefore met twice, first for the proclamation and again so that the new Queen could take the oath.) The new Sovereign must also take an oath relating to the Church Of England , but that is done in the presence of Parliament. This oath, known as the Accession Declaration, runs as follows:

I, N, do solemnly and sincerely in the presence of God, profess, testify and declare that I am a faithful Protestant , and that I will, according to the true intent of the enactments to secure the Protestant Succession to the Throne of my realm, uphold and maintain such enactments to the best of my power.

This oath, first taken by George V in 1910 , is a moderated version of the oath which was taken by every monarch since William and Mary II in 1689 until Edward VII in 1901, and which, by the early 20th century, was deemed too overtly anti-Catholic:

I, N, profess, testify, and declare, that I do believe that in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper there is not any or any other Saint, and the Sacrifice of the Mass , as they are now used in the Church Of Rome , are superstitious and idolatrous. And I do solemnly in the presence of God profess, testify, and declare that I do make this declaration, and every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the words read unto me, as they are commonly understood by English Protestant s, without any such dispensation from any person or authority or person whatsoever, or without thinking that I am or can be acquitted before God or man, or absolved of this declaration or any part thereof, although the Pope , or any other person or persons, or power whatsoever, should dispense with or annul the same or declare that it was null and void from the beginning.

This oath was originally required by the Test Act s to be taken by all members of either house of Parliament, and all civil and military officers. However, following Catholic Emancipation , it later came to be taken only by the Monarch.

EXTERNAL LINK

BBC On This Day feature, including clip of proclamation at Royal Exchange

Information About

Accession Council