Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Town criers and musical bands will accompany proclamations across the UK

The tradition of the proclamation dates back hundreds of years.

Josh Payne
Saturday 10 September 2022 08:24 EDT
The Proclamation of Accession of King Charles III at the Royal Exchange in the City of London (Stephane de Sakutin/PA)
The Proclamation of Accession of King Charles III at the Royal Exchange in the City of London (Stephane de Sakutin/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Town criers and musical bands are set to accompany proclamations across the UK announcing that the Queen has died and the King has acceded the throne.

The tradition of the proclamation, dating back hundreds of years, sees official announcements made in towns and cities across the country.

On Sunday, at noon, it will be read aloud at Edinburgh Castle, Cardiff Castle and Hillsborough Castle in Belfast, following on from Saturday’s proclamation at St James’s Palace and the Royal Exchange in London.

Footage on social media showed areas such as Arundel in west Sussex already made the proclamation using a town crier with a bell.

Elsewhere, Southend-on-Sea officials said they expected crowds to gather in the city as the Southend Band will offer musical support.

Lord mayors and high sheriffs in places such as Birmingham, Staffordshire and Leicester will be tasked with the job of reading the proclamation.

Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, Michael Kapur OBE, said: “We are all grieving the Queen and the next few days will be a period of collective mourning.

“The reading of the proclamation is a significant moment following the Queen’s death and I am expecting large numbers of people to want to witness this piece of history.”

Southend-on-Sea City Council said flags will be at full-mast from 11am on Saturday to mark the proclamation and will return to half-mast at 1pm on Sunday.

Roads are set to be closed at some proclamations, including in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and around the central library in Manchester on Sunday.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in