St James's Palace
St James's Palace is the official seat of the sovereign King and has been ever since the reign of Henry VIII. LGfL was granted exclusive access to the staterooms at St James Palace which hosts the location for different stages of the 'Accession' process relating to Coronations.
St James's Palace is the official seat of the Sovereign King or Queen and has been ever since the reign of Henry VIII.
It plays a key role in 'Accession', which is the event of a new Sovereign taking the throne upon the death of the previous King or Queen. The succession of the new Monarch is proclaimed as soon as possible at an Accession Council in St James's Palace.
In London the public proclamation of the new Sovereign is first then read out at St James's Palace.
Once the public proclamations have been made across the country, planning for the coronation can begin.
After the Accession Council, the Principal Proclamation is made from the balcony overlooking Friary Court at St James's Palace.
Introduction to St James's Palace
Ever since the reign of Henry VIII, St James's Palace is the official seat of the sovereign King.
In the 1530s, Henry VIII commissioned a great deal of building work at the palace. Ever since, it's been used in lots of different ways by different Kings and Queens.
It was Queen Victoria that decided to move into Buckingham Palace. However, St James's Palace still plays an important role in the British monarchy in terms of the different ceremonies and one of the key ones is linked to the accession.
The Accession - Part 1 - The Picture Gallery
Part One of the Accession happens in picture gallery, one of the state apartments at St James's Palace.
It is in this room that there is a meeting of the Accession Council. One of the most important decisions the council makes is the decision on what the name of our new king is going to be.
The Accession - Part 2 - The Throne Room
The throne room plays a key role in the accession ceremony. Part two takes place here, and that's where the new sovereign meets the Privy Council for the first time.
On the 10th September 2022, his Majesty King Charles III met the members of the Privy Council. (The members are Government ministers, past Prime Ministers and other people in important positions within the Government).
The purpose of this first meeting is for the King to make some declarations as to the what he will uphold as part of his role as our new Head of State.
Features of the Throne Room
The Throne Room at St James's Palace is dominated by two key features: the throne itself and also the canopy above it (the canopy of state); this is a really important feature. The idea of a canopy sitting over and above an important person, such as a sovereign or a monarch, is something that dates back to the Middle Ages. It is a tradition that's been kept on since; this particular one dates to the time of Queen Victoria.
The throne itself dates back to William IV, but the cipher is a different one. The cipher is for Queen Elizabeth II, the E for Elizabeth and the two for the fact she was our second Queen named Elizabeth, and R for the Latin word Regina. The importance of this throne chair is that it's updated as we go on with our different monarchs moving through history.
The Accession - Part 3 - The Balcony
In one of the oldest rooms in St. James's Palace, there is a window that when it is removed, leads out onto a special balcony where the final part of the Accession Ceremony occurs.