 In the case of a demise of the Crown , the Privy Council — together with the Lords Spiritual , the Lords Temporal , the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London as well as representatives of Commonwealth realms — makes a proclamation declaring the accession of the new sovereign and receives an oath from the new monarch relating to the security of the Church of Scotland , as required by law . It is also customary for the new sovereign to make an allocution to the Privy Council on that occasion , and this Sovereign 's Speech is formally published in The London Gazette . Any such Special Assembly of the Privy Council , convened to proclaim the accession of a new sovereign and witness the monarch 's statutory oath , is known as an Accession Council . The last such meetings were held on 6 and 8 February 1952 : as Elizabeth II was abroad when the last demise of the Crown took place , the Accession Council met twice , once to proclaim the sovereign ( meeting of 6 February 1952 ) , and then again after the new queen had returned to Britain , to receive from her the oath required by statute ( meeting of 8 February 1952 ) . 
