IT FELT like the whole of Wokingham had turned out with just one aim – to shout God Save The King.
On Sunday, September 11, bang on 2pm, Market Place fell silent for the proclamation ceremony.
A bit of history in the making, and the first such event for 70 years. No one on the podium had had to do one before.
The historic event followed the same pattern as it had done for hundreds of years: dignitaries, led by the borough mayor, proclaimed that the United Kingdom had a new monarch. King Charles III was now our figurehead, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, September 8.
Thousands of people flocked to Market Place to be part of this history. They filled the courtyard area, the spilled round the sides of the town hall. They stood on the other side of the road.
Toddlers sat on parents’ shoulders, while phones were held aloft, all to honour this moment in time.
Among the dignitaries were Wokingham MP Sir John Redwood, senior council staff, and councillors from town and borough councils.
They processed from the Shute End council offices through to Market Place where they assembled by the town hall entrance.
Awaiting them were St Sebastian Wokingham Band and members of the 2499 Wokingham Squadron Air Training Corps.
Then, just before 2pm, they processed into position and the crowd fell silent in expectation of the short ceremony, held in the unseasonably warm autumnal sunshine.
The Revd Canon Richard Lamey from St Paul’s Church was first to speak, sharing the story behind the proclamations.
“Today, is one of the first occasions when communities have an opportunity to come together and reflect on the moment in our nation’s history when the reign of our longest-serving Monarch came to an end and our new Sovereign succeeded,” he said.
He also drew attention to Wokingham’s ceremonial mace being held upside down and wrapped in black cloth by mace bearer David Dunham.
“There is a tradition that when the Monarch visits a borough, the Mace – the symbol of the Mayor’s authority – is inverted in recognition of the authority of the Crown. In today’s ceremony the Mace will be inverted as a similar signal of recognition that the Crown has passed from our late Sovereign to her successor,” he said.
Borough mayor, Cllr Caroline Smith, is Wokingham’s first citizen. The responsibility for explaining the ceremony was here.
“We come together this afternoon following the passing of our late Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth the Second. Our sadness at this time is shared by people across the globe, as we remember with affection and gratitude the lifetime of service given by our longest-reigning Monarch,” she said.
“Today’s ceremony marks the formal Proclamation to the people of the Borough of Wokingham of the beginning of our new King’s reign.”
The mace was inverted before the proclamation from the privy council was read.
It included this wording: “Prince Charles Philip Arthur George is now, by the Death of our late Sovereign of Happy Memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories, King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.”
She finished by saying God save the king, a refrain repeated by the assembled crowds.
The band then led the singing of the national anthem, now changed from Queen to King, before it was hats off for three cheers for King Charles III.
A large round of applause followed and the ceremony was over.
Brief, formal, simple, history was made for the first time in 70 years – we remember and mourn our Queen, but also we welcome and cheer for our new King.
