King Charles III will be crowned on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony that will embrace the past but look to the modern world after the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign.
Tuesday’s announcement from Buckingham Palace comes amid speculation that the coronation will be shorter and less extravagant than the three-hour ceremony that installed Elizabeth in 1953, in keeping with Charles’ plans for a more relaxed monarchy. While the palace provided few details, British media reported that the guest list would be cut from 8,000 to 2,000.
Charles will be crowned in a solemn religious ceremony officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the palace said in a statement. Queen consort Camilla will be crowned alongside her husband.
The palace said the coronation would reflect the king’s character today and look to the future, while being rooted in long-standing traditions and fairs.
Charles will be anointed with holy oil before receiving the orb, scepter and coronation ring. Camilla will also be anointed with holy oil and crowned, as was Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
The palace is planning the coronation, known as Operation Golden Orb, as Charles and his heir Prince William try to show the monarchy is still relevant in modern, multicultural Britain. While there was widespread respect for Elizabeth, as evidenced by the tens of thousands of people who waited for hours to file by her coffin, there is no guarantee that respect will transfer to Charles. will go
Royal historian Robert Lacey, author of “Majesty: Elizabeth II and the House of Windsor,” said organizers should shoot for a ceremony that is about an hour long, compared to last month’s “extremely moving” funeral for the queen. Be consistent.
“One must also remember that, while all the pomp and gravity of the Queen’s funeral was focused on paying tribute to her, the Coronation paid tribute to an institution rather than a person, with whom it had much to do with it. There are thoughtful people. The country disagrees,” Lacy told the BBC.
While much of the coronation ceremony, which has changed little over the past 1,000 years, is expected to remain in place, some of the more frills of race and circumstance may be trimmed as Britain grapples with rising inflation and the war in Ukraine. Struggling with the resulting results. Optics are important.
“The idea of this very grand coronation is coming on the back of a winter of austerity, the cost of living crisis, but also, I think, the realization that thousands of foreign dignitaries are flying in airplanes that are fueled by oil. And petrol or whatever the gulls are. They’re happy to be crowned an eco-friendly king – all that stuff can sound very strange,” Anna White, professor of the history of modern monarchy at City University London. Locke told the BBC.
The event traditionally takes place a few months after the king ascends the throne, allowing time to mourn his predecessor and organize the event. Charles is expected to sign a proclamation formally announcing the date of the ceremony at a meeting of his senior advisers, known as the Privy Council, later this year.