Charles formally proclaimed King by privy council

The crowd sang the national anthem, God Save the King, with its wording reverting to that last sung 70 years ago, and ceremonial troops gave three cheers for the new king.

During it, the King signed a declaration and oath before assembled privy counsellors, including the new Queen Consort and Prince of Wales, using ink from an ink pot gifted to him by Prince William and Prince Harry.

Following tradition, the King was missing from the first part of the proceedings, attended only by privy counsellors, and did not witness senior figures from national life including the Queen Consort, the Prince of Wales and the prime minister, Liz Truss, as the proclamation was first read.

The proclamation was read aloud, then read again outside in public at 11am from the balcony. It was also read aloud at the Royal Exchange in the City of London one hour later at noon.

At The Royal Exchange in the City, the reading aloud of the proclamation was preceded by the pomp and pageantry of a grand ceremonial procession through the economic heart of the nation, reflecting the unique relationship between the monarch and the City of London.

This was the second proclamation. Other proclamations will follow in coming days in Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland.

There are more than 700 privy counsellors, though only 200 were invited to attend. The proclamation does not make Charles King, which happened automatically on the death of his mother, but it confirms him as King.

The privy council acts in an advisory capacity to the sovereign, and today is a purely formal body mainly comprising seniors parliamentarians past and present, leading members of the Church of England, senior judges, senior civil servants and Commonwealth representatives.

The accession council first met in 1603 after Elizabeth I died without a child. Since then, it meets as soon as possible after the death of a sovereign.

Salutes were fired from Cardiff Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Hillsborough Castle, Gibraltar, Colchester, York, Larkhill near Stonehenge, naval bases in Devonport and Portsmouth and a number of stations at sea.