The coronation ceremony dates back to the medieval period, and much of it remains unchanged…reports Asian Lite News
Great Britain’s royal family turns the page on a new chapter Saturday with the coronation of King Charles III.
The pomp, pageantry and symbolism dates back more than 1,000 years, but the crowning of this king will feature new twists on the tradition and changes from the coronation of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, 70 years ago.
Plans for the ceremony at Westminster Abbey call for a more toned-down affair than the last one, even though royals from other nations, heads of state and most of Charles’ family will be there, and the monarch plans to wear the same vestments as Elizabeth did.
Charles automatically ascended to the throne when Elizabeth died Sept. 8, and he was officially proclaimed Britain’s monarch two days later in an ascension ceremony broadcast for the first time on television.
Charles said he was “deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty which have now passed to me.”
There is no legal requirement for a coronation, and other European monarchies have done away with the ceremonies.
But the deeply religious and regalia-heavy event is a more formal confirmation of his role as head of state and titular head of the Church of England and was intended to show the king’s authority was derived from God.
During the service conducted by the church’s spiritual leader, the archbishop of Canterbury, Charles will be anointed with oil, receive the traditional symbols of the monarch — including the orb and scepter — and have the St. Edwards Crown placed on his head for the first time. Charles’ wife, Camilla, will be crowned as queen consort.
The coronation ceremony dates back to the medieval period, and much of it remains unchanged.
Westminster Abbey has been the setting of the ritual since William the Conqueror was crowned in 1066.
Elizabeth II’s coronation in June 1953 was the first to be televised live. It drew an audience of tens of millions in Britain and was later played to a worldwide audience. In the age of streaming and social media, people will be able to watch Charles’ crowning live from virtually anywhere on the planet and post their hot takes with a crown emoji created for the occasion.
Charles has said he plans to slim down the monarchy. His coronation is expected to reflect that with a ceremony shorter than his mother’s three-hour extravaganza and 2,000 guests in the audience — a quarter the number who assembled to see Elizabeth crowned.
The procession after the ceremony also will be decidedly shorter than the 5-mile (8 kilometer) route that Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, took around London in 1953. Charles and Camilla plan to take a 1.3-mile (2-kilometer) path back to Buckingham Palace, trading the wheels that will bring them to the church — the 260-year-old coach used in every coronation since William IV’s in 1831 — for the comfort of a more modern carriage on the return trip.
A hundred heads of state are expected to attend along with royalty ranging from Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and his wife, Kiko, to Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.
The U.S. will keep alive its streak of a president never attending a British royal coronation, although first lady Jill Biden is set to attend.
William, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, is expected to kneel before his father and pledge his loyalty in what’s known as the Homage of Royal Blood.
His younger brother, Prince Harry, the disgruntled Duke of Sussex, is not expected to take part in the service. His explosive memoir “Spare,” which became a bestseller early this year, made unflattering claims about the royal family.