Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! City of London’s Common Cryer reads the King’s Proclamation

Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! By the King, a Proclamation!

Earlier today, in keeping with ancient custom, a group of officials in the City of London wearing lace and tights read aloud the King’s Proclamation summoning a new Parliament.

The tradition of reading out a Proclamation in public dates back to before newspapers existed. It also occurred at a time when Parliament only met when summoned by the monarch, more often than not, when they wanted to raise taxes to fight a war.

So, for people in the Middle Ages, hearing a Proclamation being read in your town square summoning a Parliament was usually a sign that taxes were about to go up.

Plus ça change.

Over the centuries, Parliament gained more powers and started to become a permanent institution, with General Elections announced by the Prime Minister. However, the King is still required to carry out the formal process of dissolving the old Parliament and summoning the new one.

Yesterday morning, at a meeting of the Privy Council in Buckingham Palace, King Charles III sealed the Proclamation and formally dissolved Parliament. At that moment, all MPs ceased to be MPs, and traditionally, the Proclamation calling an election for new MPs would be read out loud across the country.

While the custom of reading the Proclamation out loud has died off in most places, it still takes place in a few locations, notably in Edinburgh and here in the City of London.

So, this morning, we saw the Common Cryer and Serjeant-at-Arms, Major Peter Oweh, accompanied by the City Marshal, the Acting Keeper of Walbrook Hall, and the Clerk of the Privy Council, carry the proclamation from Mansion House to the Royal Exchange.

There, flanked on each side by a Constable of the Royal Exchange, the Common Cryer read the Proclamation out loud to anyone within earshot to hear.

OYEZ! OYEZ! OYEZ!

By the King, a Proclamation for dissolving the present Parliament and declaring the calling of another.

Whereas We have thought fit, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council, to dissolve this present Parliament, which stands prorogued to Friday, the thirty-first day of May: We do, for that End, publish this Our Royal Proclamation, and do hereby dissolve the said Parliament accordingly:

And the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the Members of the House of Commons, are discharged from further Attendance thereat: And We being desirous and resolved, as soon as may be, to meet Our People, and to have their Advice in Parliament, do hereby make known to all Our loving Subjects Our Royal Will and Pleasure to call a new Parliament:

And do hereby further declare, that, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council, We have given Order that Our Chancellor of Great Britain and Our Secretary of State for Northern Ireland do respectively, upon Notice thereof, forthwith, issue out Writs, in due Form and according to Law, for calling a new Parliament:

And We do hereby also, by this Our Royal Proclamation under Our Great Seal of Our Realm, require Writs forthwith to be issued accordingly by Our said Chancellor and Secretary of State respectively, for causing the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons who are to serve in the said Parliament to be duly returned to, and give their Attendance in, Our said Parliament on Tuesday, the ninth day of July next, which Writs are to be returnable in due course of Law.

Given at our Court at Buckingham Palace this 30th day of May, in the year of our Lord 2024, and in the second year of our reign.

GOD SAVE THE KING

With the Proclamation formally proclaimed in public, the race is now on for us, the loyal and loving subjects, to decide who will be able to put the letters M.P. after their name.

(a note, we’re not actually subjects in the UK, loving or otherwise, we’ve been citizens since 1981, but they keep the old language intact, in case you hadn’t already realised that)