Why Charles' Official Ascension Was A Technological First For Great Britain

While the world waits to hear when Queen Elizabeth II's funeral will take place, Great Britain has made another step in moving forward into this post-Elizabethan era. On Saturday, September 10, King Charles III and the Accession Council met in the Throne Room at St. James' Palace, where the king made his official declaration, per Deadline.

The ceremony, Bloomberg reports, has been in place since 1837 when Queen Victoria ascended the throne. Despite the fact the council had met for the ascension of two queens, Bloomberg adds that King Charles III's ceremony was the first time women were allowed to attend. Council members included former prime minister Theresa May and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Great Britain's new leader, Prime Minister Liz Truss, was also in attendance, whose first week in office included Elizabeth's final public meeting and now the ascension of the first new monarch the United Kingdom has seen in 70 years.

With his Queen Consort, Camilla Parker Bowles, and his son, William, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, as his witnesses, King Charles III declared he would "fulfill all responsibilities as king of Great Britain and Northern England, as well as accommodating the separate laws in Scotland," per Deadline.

For the first time ever, the public got an intimate look at this centuries-old ceremony. Deadline reports that not only was King Charles III's official ascension ceremony televised for the first time, it was also live-streamed on social media platforms like Twitter and YouTube.