Prince Charles' first day as king laid bare by UK’s top constitutional expert

Prince Charles, the heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, has resumed his royal duties week after the 96-year-old's Jubilee celbrations.

Charles' first days as King have been set out by a constitutional expert in an interview with a media outlet.

Dr Robert Morris, who has 40 years of experience in constitutional issues, discussed the events that will take place the day after the monarch’s death as hundreds of privy counsellors, including the Prime Minister, meet at the Accession Council in St. James’ Palace to proclaim King Charles as the new Sovereign.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Morris said: “Within 24 hours, there’s a special meeting of members of the Privy Council who are augmented by various other worthies.

“Including, for example, representatives of the City as is traditional. The Lord Mayor will be there and all members of the Privy Council.

“At the moment there are just over 700 of them, which is a much larger number than were present in 1952 when King George VI died, and his daughter [the Queen] was of course then in Kenya.

“So, there’ll be a sort of management problem of how to deal with all the numbers which would also include probably the high commissioners from the realms – that is the Commonwealth countries where the Queen is also head of state, as well as head of the Commonwealth.

“And what this Accession Council does is, it doesn’t make Charles King, it proclaims that he is already King.”

He added: “There’s a great fanfare of announcements and there are events in all the provincial capitals to have the proclamation proclaimed and so on.”

Dr Morris went on to explain how a second part of the Accession Council will then take place, involving only Charles and Privy Counsellors: “He [Charles] does two principal things. He makes a personal declaration, which is very much a personal affair.

“It has three main elements really. One, the great regret of course of the passing of his mother and mention no doubt of her values and her successes.

“Secondly, he’s saying that he will, of course, observe the Constitution and do his best to preserve it.”

“And thirdly, he will make some remarks probably on the lines that it’s a heavy burden, which indeed it is.” 

Details of the Government’s planning for after the Queen’s death were leaked to Politico in September. Codenamed Operation London Bridge, the documents set out how Charles will succeed his mother to the throne.

The Queen was previously urged by some royal commentators to abdicate the throne in favour of Prince Charles. Some were expecting that the 96-year-old might make an announcement in this regard on her Jubilee.