Katie Williams
Reporting from Canterbury

Image source, PA Media

History was made earlier when a woman was enthroned as the Archbishop of Canterbury for the very first time.

At moments, Dame Sarah Mullally looked visibly moved and could be seen smiling broadly. Just 32 years ago, women couldn’t be ordained.

The service was filled with ceremony but there were also some personal touches - including the clasp on Mullally’s vestments, made from the belt buckle she wore as a nurse while working in the NHS.

Diverse voices were heard throughout, reflecting the breadth of the Anglican Communion. A visible highlight for some of the congregants who I could see from my seat was the African Choir of Norfolk, which filled the cathedral with gentle guitar strums and jubilant harmonies.

Mullally faces some challenges ahead - some have criticised her record on safeguarding and there are others in the Church who don’t think a woman should even be at the head.

For today, though, the atmosphere inside the cathedral was one of celebration.

• To read more on today's events, head to our main news story

On exiting the cathedral, Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally has been greeted by a mixture of locals and people who've travelled from further afield to catch a glimpse of her.

Below are some of the images we're seeing, showing crowds of people, young and old, and others peering out of windows.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Jordan Kenny & Naomi de Souza
BBC Newsbeat

Reverend Lorna Heatley, a curate from Richmond in Yorkshire, tells BBC Newsbeat that Sarah Mullally's enthronement marks an important moment for the Church.

But "she’s got a difficult road ahead, she’s not going to make decisions that everyone is going to agree with. She has a long uphill battle," the 32-year-old says.

On how she thinks the Church of England will look under Mullally's leadership, Heatley accepts it will be an undertaking - but says she feels optimistic.

"It’s an exciting and at times difficult but altogether wonderful period of change."

Sarah Mullally said during her sermon earlier that the Church should offer "a listening ear", and be a place for "conversations to be shared".

Following the ceremony, she's out speaking to people on the streets of Canterbury - and taking part in the occasional selfie.

Niles, pictured below, is one of those people - he earlier told the BBC he'd arrived at 10:00 to secure a spot by the cathedral's entrance.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, PA Media

The ceremony's now complete - it ended with the congregation being led in hymn and prayer by the new Archbishop of Canterbury.

Dame Sarah Mullally then slowly exits to the sound of organs and applause, as the Prince and Princess of Wales join other guests in rising to their feet.

Images of the service, which has just finished, are continuing to be published.

This one shows Dame Sarah Mullally smiling after being officially installed.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Away from war, Sarah Mullally turns to "hurt that exists much closer to home".

"We must not overlook or minimise the pain experienced by those who have been harmed through the actions, inactions, and failures of those in our own Christian communities", she says.

"Every day, we hold victims and survivors in our hearts and in our prayers, and we must remain committed to truth, compassion, justice and action."

She promises a "church for the whole nation and for the world, which looks for ways of joining with people of all faiths and none, in acts of service that will transform".

The newly installed Archbishop of Canterbury is addressing the service and makes reference to her recent pilgrimage, from London to Canterbury, and her "aching feet and limbs".

She looks back, remembering the "teenage Sarah who put her faith in God".

Mullally says she "could never have imagined the future that lay ahead and certainly not the ministry to which I am now called".

The archbishop also refers to people who are not able to attend the service due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, and offers prayers for them and people living in other areas with conflict.

• A bit of context on that last point: The Archbishop of Jerusalem was unable to travel to the UK for the service due to the war in the Middle East. Similarly, the Archbishop of Melanesia and the Acting Primate of Papua New Guina have sent apologies, due to travel issues caused by the war.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

We've just seen Sarah Mullally installed, officially, as the new Archbishop of Canterbury - but she's technically been in the role since a ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral in January.

The ceremony was a mix of religious service and legal process. It also included some newer elements, with an effort to include a wide range of voices from across the Church. Among those elements was a Portuguese reading, a nod to associations with Anglican churches in Angola and Mozambique, and also a South African Xhosa hymn.

A heckler briefly interrupted proceedings in protest of Mullally’s record on safeguarding, and was escorted from the cathedral.

While she has been doing a lot of the "behind-the-scenes" bits of the job and having meetings since then, the more public-facing parts of her role, including leading public services, will start after what we're seeing take place today.

Katie Williams
Live reporter

Loud clapping echoes through the cathedral and some cheers are heard too.

The applause is long and lots of people are on their feet.

Image source, PA Media

The Prince of Wales is dressed in a dark suit and blue-and-white chequered tie, while the Princess of Wales wears a grey and black suit with matching hat and a jewelled cross around her neck.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Katie Williams
Reporting from Canterbury

Image source, Church of England

We've just seen a performance from the African Choir of Norfolk, which was founded in 2019 and performs songs from 16 nations across Africa.

I spied a few of the clergy, sitting in front of the area for journalists, tapping their feet along to the music.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is among those lining the pews of Canterbury Cathedral.

Just a few hours ago, he was in the House of Commons for Prime Minister's Questions.

Speaker of the House, Lindsay Hoyle, has also made his way to Canterbury.

Image source, PA Media

According to the order of service, we're due to see a wide range of voices from across the Church reflected, including the traditional words "Lord have mercy" being sung in Urdu.

An African choir will also lead choruses from Namibia and the Congo, and other languages will be used in readings and prayers.

Image source, Church of England

Yasmin Rufo
Reporting from Canterbury

Image source, Yasmin Rufo/BBC

I've been speaking to people outside the cathedral throughout Wednesday morning.

Sarah, who lives locally, tells me she took the day off work to “witness this historic moment”.

"People will ask where you were on the day the first female Archbishop was installed and I’ll be able to say that I was here, watching her enter the cathedral."

She says she met some really friendly people while waiting for the ceremony to start.

Katie Williams
Reporting from Canterbury

We were told in the days leading up to the service that Mullally had selected the hymns herself.

The choir we're seeing, and hearing, is made up of choristers from local schools - alongside choral scholars.

Among the hymns they're singing today is Praise, my soul, the King of heaven.

A reminder that you can watch proceedings live at the top of the page.

Image source, Church of England

Image source, Church of England

Katie Williams
Reporting from Canterbury

We could hear the knocking of the archbishop's staff very faintly back here in the cathedral.

Image source, Reuters

Upon arriving at the cathedral, Sarah Mullally uses her staff to knock on the door three times.

Tradition dictates that the new archbishop knocks with a staff, known as a crosier. It signifies Mullally’s pastoral role as a shepherd, guiding the Church and its faithful.

Mullally's eventually let in and welcomed by local schoolchildren, who ask her identity and purpose, before a swell of organ music begins.

Image source, PA Media

We just heard the Reading of the Mandate - this is a longstanding tradition and the archbishop can not enter the building until this has been read.

"We have elected Sarah as our archbishop and her election has been confirmed. Therefore, let the mandate for her installation now be read," the Dean of Canterbury says.

After it's read out, he welcomes Mullally inside.

Image source, Church of England