I was recently privileged to be invited, in my capacity as Mayor of Beverley’s consort, to the Proclamation of King Charles III in Hull. There was a procession of Hull and East Riding civic dignitaries from the GuildHall to the square in front of Hull City Hall followed by speeches from the balcony of the City Hall by the Lord Lieutenant of East Yorkshire and the High Sheriff of East Yorkshire. The once in a lifetime nature of the Royal proclamation and the favourable sunny weather made for a pleasant and fascinating event for the many hundreds of spectators who attended.

After the event the civic guests enjoyed tea, coffee or orange juice in the City Hall and then in most cases journeyed to other proclamation events in the region.

Linda and I hurried back to Beverley to take part in the procession of civic guests from Beverley GuildHall to the Saturday Market Cross. There again the Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff proclaimed the accession of King Charles III.

So we enter a new era with a new King and coincidentally a new Prime Minister. Wherever Britain goes from here, we are all breaking new ground. The international tectonic plates of geopolitics and economics are shifting. Technologies such as artificial intelligence are set to transform life and society. Resources such as food, minerals, energy and even water are starting to become scarce. Climate change, whether we choose to deny it or prepare for it, will start to hit us head on.

Charles III and his new Prime Minister will have a lot to think about.