The Proclaimers

Yesterday at County Hall, Yr Wyddgrug/Mold, the High Sheriff of the ceremonial county of Clwyd officially proclaimed the new king. 

The last time there was a royal proclamation, it's sobering the think that neither of Rhuthun/Ruthin's nor Yr Wyddgrug's County Halls were built. And neither did Clwyd exist, either as an administrative or ceremonial county.

The previous event was in 1952 and the High Sheriff of the old county of Denbighshire (as was) would have made his proclamation in Rhuthun. Denbighshire was abolished in 1974, in favour of Clwyd which, in its turn, was done away with in 1996. Successor new Denbighshire doesn't warrant a High Sheriff of its own and for shrievalty has to stand alongside Flintshire, Wrexham and from 2003 the whole of Conwy, as Clwyd lingers for ceremonial purposes only.

So it was that at 1 pm yesterday, 70 High Sheriffs after the 1952 appointment, Zoë Henderson of Caerfallen, Rhuthun, as High Sheriff of Clwyd, proclaimed the new king, not in Rhuthun but in Yr Wyddgrug. 

These days, this is one of the remaining duties of a High Sheriff, yet there had been 70 annual appointments between the 1952 proclamation given by The Hon. John Francis McLaren of Talycafn and yesterday's given by Zoë Henderson. 2022 and it just happened to fall to a local.

Back on home turf

Present in Yr Wyddgrug were the three chairmen and one deputy chair of ceremonial Clwyd's constituent administrative authorities, each of whom were presented with a scroll to take back for a local proclamation at 2.30 pm. Denbighshire's local event was on the rear steps of County Hall, performed by council chairman Cllr Arwel Roberts. Also present but not speaking were the Deputy Lord Lieutenant and Zoë Henderson who, earlier, had been central to the Yr Wyddgrug event and who, at a little after 2.45 pm, left for home and some well-earned food. 

It's not a bad job if you're called to do 13 minutes' work once every 70 years.