The paper informed me at 10 o'clock this morning, as I was writing my journal that the King died at a quarter past 2 o'clock this morning at Windsor. The Archbishop of Canterbury, and all his family being with him at the time, and he was in possession of his mind till the last.

I dressed as quickly as I could in order to repair to St. James' to attend the Privy Council for directing the proclamation. A summons arrived in half an hour for attendance at Kensington at 11, where I arrived at 10 minutes after 11.

I found about 20 privy councillors there assembled who soon increased to about 90 or 100. The Lord President, Lord Melbourne, Duke of Wellington, Lord Hill and five or six others were in uniform - all the rest in plain clothes.

A large chair was placed at the head of the table and a large foot stool on the right hand side of the chair for the privy councillors to kneel on when they kissed hands. Lord Lansdowne then said, "It is my melancholy duty to inform the Lords of the Council that His Most Excellent Majesty, William IV expired this morning at Windsor Castle at a quarter past 2 o'clock: and that the Crown has consequently [passed to] Her Majesty Queen Alexandrina Victoria. And it is now our duty to apprise Her Majesty of the event. Perhaps it would be more convenient that only 3 or 4 of us should make the communication and if you please we will now retire for the purpose." Then Lord Lansdowne, Lord Melbourne, the Duke of Cumberland (King of Hanover) and the Duke of Sussex were withdrawing into the next room when Lord Melbourne turned round and said, "We should have the two archbishops", who accordingly joined them.

In 3 minutes they returned and the council then proceeded to pass orders for the proclamation, the firing of the guns and publishing the usual notifications. When this was done the same parties again withdrew and immediately returned with Her Majesty leaning on the arm of the Duke of Cumberland. She was dressed in a plain black silk gown with a white muslin collar and a thin black scarf. I never saw her look so well. She was a little flushed from nervousness but walked up and took her seat with admirable grace, composure and dignity, speaking, however, to no one.

The oath for the preservation of the Church of Scotland was then tendered to her. This done she opened her paper and read her declaration as well as Mrs Siddons herself could have read it. Her voice is beautifully modulated and of peculiar sweetness. Her performance was universally praised.

Lord Melbourne, who had written the declaration, was in a state of great emotion during the time she was reading it. He kept repeating with his lips, in a state of complete abstraction, each sentence as she uttered it, every muscle of his face being violently agitated. He occasionally put his handkerchief to his face and I thought he would have gushed into tears.

The declaration having been read, the privy councillors' oath was administered, first to the Royal Dukes, who then kissed the queen's hand. Afterwards the oath was administered to as many at a time as could hold two large prayer books. Charles Greville gabbling over the words with shameful haste - no one hearing a syllable for the noise in the room was considerable and then so many pressing behind that there was quite a scramble to get a knee on the stool to kiss Her Majesty's hand, which was so well covered with rings that my lips did not touch her skin.

As soon as we were sworn we repaired to another room to sign the proclamation where there was another scramble for pens and the parchment. As I was signing some man actually pulled the parchment away from me to himself in quite another part of the table.