Key Points
- Australia will have a one-off public holiday to remember Queen Elizabeth II.
- It will be held on September 22.
King Charles III has been officially proclaimed as Australia's new head of state during a ceremony at Parliament House, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Australians would have a national public holiday to mourn the Queen.
The one-off holiday would take place on 22 September, three days after the royal funeral in London.
"That's to allow people to pay their respects for the passing of Queen Elizabeth," the prime minister said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will recommend Governor-General David Hurley proclaims the new King Charles III's ascension to the throne. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) NO ARCHIVING Source: AAP / MICK TSIKAS/AAPIMAGE
The proclamation announcing the monarch's accession following the death of Queen Elizabeth was read out by Governor-General David Hurley in Canberra on Sunday.
Australia's Executive Council, which formally advises the governor-general, earlier met in Canberra to recommend the proclamation.
The Governor-General said the council had a weighty responsibility.
"Australia is an unfinished product. It is now entering a new era," Mr Hurley said ahead of the meeting.
'The end of an era'
"Most Australians have not known a world without Queen Elizabeth II, her passing is the end of an era."
The prime minister said it was an historic event.
"Today, we mark formally the new head of state in King Charles III and in the proclamation, the first in my lifetime and the first in a majority of Australians' lifetime, is an historic event."
The proclamation ceremony began with a procession of the Australian Defence Force followed by a welcome to country.
Following the proclamation, God Save the King was played, with flags raised to full mast.
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Australia proclaims Charles III as its new king
SBS News
11/09/202203:47
An Indigenous spiritual dance then followed before a 21-gun salute rang out across the capital.
MPs and senators from across the political divide were also in attendance to watch the ceremonial proceedings.
Large crowds also gathered outside Parliament House to witness the proclamation, with some attendees waiting for more than an hour.
The prime minister and Mr Hurley will travel to London later this week to attend the funeral at Westminster Abbey.
Before then, the Queen's coffin will be driven from Balmoral Castle to Scotland's capital Edinburgh and be flown to London later in the week.
It will remain at Buckingham Palace before being taken to Westminster Hall to lie in state for four days, allowing the public to pay their respects.
Mr Albanese said assistance has been given to 10 Pacific island nations that have connections with the Commonwealth to travel to London for the funeral.
Federal parliament, which was due to sit this week in Canberra, has been suspended following the death of the Queen.
The prime minister said the government would look to make up the days following the period of mourning.
"One of the days will be devoted to people being able to give their condolences on the passing of Queen Elizabeth," he said.
Since the Queen's death more than 13,700 condolences have been made online on government websites, while many more people have left floral and other tributes at government houses in Canberra and state capitals.
Mr Albanese described the Queen as a "reassuring presence" for Australia.
"She was a constant, she evolved as well. If you look at the engagement, it evolved over time ... but she continued to have that presence," he told the ABC.
"I think that is a sign of the fact that Queen Elizabeth was held in such great respect and admiration, not just in Commonwealth countries, but around the world."
Queen 'most accomplished leader', John Howard says
Former prime minister John Howard has remembered the late Queen Elizabeth II as the most accomplished leader he dealt with during his long political career.
Mr Howard, who met with the Queen on multiple occasions over 11 years as prime minister, paid tribute to the monarch's sense of duty.
"(She was) a great leader, an impeccable constitutional monarch, somebody who had enormous affection for our country," he told Sky News on Sunday.
Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard described Queen Elizabeth II as the most accomplished leader he dealt with during his long political career. Source: AAP / ANDREW TAYLOR
The former prime minister said the late Queen was always well informed about events in Australia, describing the monarch as having a "wonderful sensitivity" towards countries in the Commonwealth.
"Whenever I saw her, she was across the recent political developments in Australia ... she would ask about them but not in a way that represented any kind of interference," Mr Howard said.
"She was very familiar with things that we had done and things we'd achieved and the challenges the country had."
