September 8, 2022, the Queen of England passed away. She passed away at the age of 96 and was the longest reigning monarch in British history. Do you know what accession means? It means the next in line takes over the throne after the king or queen passes. The new King of England is King Charles the third. He is Elizabeth’s oldest son and former King of Whales. King Charles’ official coronation will not be until late spring 2023. Accession is their time for mourning and reflection. Coronation is putting a crown on the new monarch’s head. Accession is when they become the new monarch. During King Charles’ coronation he will be wearing St. Edward’s crown. The crown is made up of; 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 4 rubies, and 269 pearls. The crown is thought to be between £3 billion and £5 billion. Over the years the crown has been resized to fit the heads of the monarch expected to wear them. King Charles is hoping and expecting that his coronation will be shorter and quicker than Queen Elizabeth’s, hers took 3 hours. There was 16 months between Queen Elizabeth’s accession and coronation. 191 members attended Queen Elizabeth’s accession. There is a protocol to be followed when officially ascending to a new king or queen and it contains two parts. The first thing that happens is the Lord pronouncing the Queen’s death, Then the clerk council reads the accession proclamation. Next the platform party, royal family members, prime minister, archbishop, and earl marshal sign the proclamation. After the reading and signing the Lord calls for silence and the council deals with other business. The council is made up of privy counselors and 670 senior politicians.The second part does not always begin right after the first part. It is only attended by privy counselors, and it begins with Charles’ personal declaration relating to the queen’s death. Charles then takes an oath to the Church of Scotland about security. King Charles will be the oldest person to accede to the throne at age 73.