Video: East Hampshire District Council

The Proclamation of the accession took place on Sunday 11 September 2022 in the Council Chamber at Penns Place in Petersfield.

It was read by Cllr Sally Pond, Chairman of the Council and Sir James Scott, the Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire.

Among those in attendance were Damian Hinds MP, the leader of the council Richard Millard, chief executive Gill Kneller and Councillor Julie Butler.

Why in private?

Some people, and the town council, expected and wanted the Proclamation to be given in public. The town council had prepared plans for it to be held outside the Town Hall, under the town flag.

However, East Hampshire District Council has defended its decision to hold the ceremony behind closed doors. In a statement the council says:

We fully understand the deep historical and cultural importance of the proclamation of the accession and were keen to allow as many people in the district as possible to witness the event. We wanted to include residents from all corners of the district, not just Petersfield, and as such it was decided to hold the event in the East Hampshire District Council chamber, the district’s administrative seat, and post a recording of the event to social media and on our website immediately it was concluded. 

The district council says it contacted the Mayor of Petersfield twice with an invitation to attend the indoor ceremony but the clerk of Petersfield Town Council says nobody at the council knew about the Penns Place event until it was too late.