In a ceremony in London, a group of the monarch’s advisers proclaimed King Charles III Britain’s new sovereign. “I am deeply aware of this great inheritance,” he said.

The Accession Council meeting includes a litany of official proclamations for King Charles III to sign off on, including one that makes the day of the queen’s funeral a public holiday across Britain.

For more than 300 years, Britain’s kings and queens have been proclaimed sovereign in an ancient ceremony laced with history. But on Saturday morning, for the first time, the public was able to see the process in action as the proclamation of King Charles III was broadcast live.

Trumpets blared before the proclamation of the new king was read out from the balcony at St. James’s Palace, by the Garter King of Arms, who is the principal adviser to the monarch on all matters of ceremony and heraldry, in front of a few hundred members of the public.