Accession Council

In the UK, the Accession Council (Eng. about Thronbesteigungsrat ) is a ceremonial institution which convenes on the death of a monarch to proclaim the accession of his successor and be accepted by the new monarch an oath of allegiance.

Composition

The Accession Council consists of privy councilors, members of the Upper House, the Lord Mayor of London, the aldermen of the City of London and the High Commissioners of some countries of the Commonwealth. The Council shall meet at St. James 's Palace together, formally proclaimed the accession of a new Sovereign and receives an oath from him, to preserve the Church of Scotland. This proclamation is indeed part of the tradition, but legally irrelevant, as in the case of death of the monarch, his successor automatically becomes king, as determined by the Act of Settlement.

The notice and the oaths

The notice of the Council that confirms the name of the heirs, shall be signed by all present privy councilors. Traditionally, it is publicly read in several places in London, Edinburgh, Windsor and York. In addition, it is proclaimed in every town and village in a central location. Your wording is usually:

"There has to Almighty God, fallen, / in N home call our late Sovereign Lord / our deceased supreme mistress, King ( the # th / the # te) of blessed and glorious memory in His grace, through his / her death the crown solely and legally to the high and mighty prince / the high and mighty Princess N has fallen - and therefore announce announce we, the spiritual and temporal lords of this kingdom, with support from members of the Privy Council His / Her late Majesty, with representatives of other members of the Commonwealth, with other senior men of size, with the Lord Mayor, aldermen and citizens of London, with one voice and consent of tongue like the heart that the high and mighty prince / the high and mighty Princess N now, by the death of our late sovereign happy memories, King / Queen N ( of / # te) has become, by the grace of God queen / king of this kingdom and all His / Her other realms and Territories, head of the Commonwealth, Defender / in the faith, the / the Seine / your vassals of their trust and constant obedience assure a warm and humble affection, God, rule by the kings and queens, pleading, the royal princes / royal princess N ( the / the # te / n ) of the long and happy years rule to bless about us. "

The wording is not always the same. For example, they had at the accession of George VI. be changed, as Edward VIII had not died, but had abdicated, and between Edward VII and George VI. was named in the list of titles nor that of the " Emperor of India ".

The new sovereign, who is usually present, then takes an oath to preserve the Church of Scotland and defend. ( Queen Elizabeth II was at the time when she came to the throne in Kenya. Accession The Council therefore came together twice, first for the proclamation and then for the oath. ) The new sovereign must also take an oath concerning the Church of England afford it, but this happens in the presence of Parliament. This oath, known as " Accession Declaration" reads as follows:

"I, N, confess, testify and declare solemnly and sincerely in the presence of God that I am a devout Protestant, and that I maintained in accordance with the true intent of the law to uphold the Protestant succession to the throne of my kingdom, these laws with the best strength and preserve will. "

This oath, which made ​​the first George V in 1910, is a moderate version of the oath which every monarch of William III. and Mary II of England, Edward VII 1689 to 1901 made ​​, and was anti-Catholic discarded in the early 20th century as too obvious:

"I, N, confess, testify and declare that I believe that there is no transubstantiation any kind of elements of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ in the Sacrament of the Last Supper, neither in nor after its consecration by which person whatsoever; and that the invocation or adoration of the Virgin Mary or any other saint, and the sacrifice of the Mass, as they are now common in the Church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous. And I confess, testify and declare in the presence of God solemnly that I have this declaration and every part of it in the simple and usual meaning of the words that are read to me, do as they are commonly understood by English Protestants, without any kind of dispensation by any person or authority or any person, and without believing that I could be acquitted before God or man, or absolved of this declaration or any part thereof, although the Pope, or any other person or other persons, or any power, absolve me of the same or cancel them or could tell that she was from the beginning, null and void. "

This oath was originally by the test file for all members of both Houses of Parliament mandatory, also for all government officials. After Catholic Emancipation but was only done by the monarch.