section_path: Reign
section_name: Reign
paragraph_text: Reign
  
  Charles acceded to the British throne on his mother's death on 8 September 2022. He was the longest-serving British heir apparent, having surpassed Edward VII's record of 59 years on 20 April 2011. Charles was the oldest person to succeed to the British throne, at the age of 73. The previous record holder, William IV, was 64 when he became king in 1830.
  
  Charles gave his first speech to the nation at 6 pm on 9 September, in which he paid tribute to his mother and announced the appointment of his elder son, William, as Prince of Wales. The following day, the Accession Council publicly proclaimed Charles as king, the ceremony being televised for the first time. Attendees included Queen Camilla, Prince William, and the British prime minister, Liz Truss, along with her six living predecessors. The proclamation was also read out by local authorities around the United Kingdom. Other realms signed and read their own proclamations, as did Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, the Crown Dependencies, Canadian provinces, and Australian states.
  
  Charles and Camilla's coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023. Plans had been made for many years, under the code name Operation Golden Orb. Reports before his accession suggested that Charles's coronation would be simpler than his mother's in 1953, with the ceremony expected to be "shorter, smaller, less expensive, and more representative of different faiths and community groups – falling in line with the King's wish to reflect the ethnic diversity of modern Britain". Nonetheless, the coronation was a Church of England rite, including the coronation oath, the anointing, crowning, investing with the regalia, and enthronement. In July that year, the royal couple attended a national service of thanksgiving where Charles was presented with the Honours of Scotland in St Giles' Cathedral.
  
  In July 2023, the King asked for the profits from Britain's growing fleet of offshore windfarms to be used for the "wider public good" rather than as extra funding for the monarchy. It was announced that the funding of the monarchy would be reduced to 12 per cent of the Crown Estate 's net profits.
  
  In November 2022, the King and Queen hosted the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, during the first official state visit to Britain of Charles's reign. In March the following year, the royal couple embarked on a state visit to Germany and Charles became the first British monarch to address the Bundestag. Similarly, in September, he became the first British monarch to give a speech from France's Senate chamber during his state visit to the country. The following month, Charles visited Kenya where he faced pressure to apologise for British colonial actions. In a speech at the state banquet, he acknowledged "abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence", but did not formally apologise.
  
  In May 2024, the British prime minister Rishi Sunak asked the King to call a general election; subsequently royal engagements which could divert attention from the election campaign were postponed. In June 2024, the King and Queen travelled to Normandy to attend the 80th anniversary commemorations of D-Day. The same month, Charles received Emperor Naruhito of Japan during the latter's state visit to the United Kingdom. In July the annual Holyrood Week, which is usually spent in Scotland, was shortened so that Charles could return to London and appoint a new prime minister following the general election. After Sunak's Conservatives lost the election to the Labour Party led by Sir Keir Starmer, the King appointed Starmer as prime minister.
  
  In October 2024, the King and Queen toured Australia and Samoa; Australia was the first Commonwealth realm Charles visited since his accession. In Samoa, Charles attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting for the first time as head of the Commonwealth. The tour was significantly scaled back owing to his cancer diagnosis, a planned visit to New Zealand being among the cancelled events. Charles temporarily paused cancer treatment during the tour.
  
  The King and Queen initially cancelled a planned visit to the Vatican during their state visit to Italy, but they visited the Vatican on 9 April 2025 – their 20th wedding anniversary – to meet Pope Francis at Domus Sanctae Marthae as Francis was recovering from pneumonia. Francis died 12 days later.
  
  Accompanied by the Queen, the King made his first visit to Canada as monarch in May 2025. During his visit, Charles opened the 45th Canadian Parliament and delivered the speech from the throne, the first time a Canadian monarch has done so in person since 1977.