King Charles III was officially crowned on Saturday, the 6th of May 2023 in a magnificent ceremony after seven decades of being King-in-waiting. It was a star studded event with almost 19 million watching live on television according the Barb report.
The coronation day was packed with visitors from all other world despite the wet weather. Several thousands lined the royal procession route from Buckingham Palace through The Mall all the way the Westminster Abbey where the coronation service took place.
Coronation Guests
VIP guests include First Lady Jill Biden, European Commission President, Ursula Von Der Leyen, President Philip Davis of Bahamas, King Felipe of Spain, dignitaries from the commonwealth nations and royalty from different parts of world.
Prince & Princess of Wales with their family
The Coronation Seating Plan
The Crowning
The coronation of a British sovereign a host of rituals dating back centuries and remains valid to date. The ceremony was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in the order of the following process:
The Recognition – The Archbishop presents the King to the guests
The Coronation Oath – The king swears to uphold the law and the Church of England
The Anointing – With special oil known as chrism, using a 700 year old gold spoon.
The Enthronement and Homage
Following the oath, the anointing took place behind the crowd’s view in a canopy style screen as his ceremonial robes would have to removed for this.
After the anointing, he was presented the following items from the Crown Jewels: Royal Orb representing religious and moral authority and the Royal Sceptre which is a rod of gold topped with a dove symbolising equity and mercy.
The Crowns
King Charles crown, known as St Edward’s Crown was made for King Charles II in 1661. The crown comprises a mix of precious stones including tourmalines, white and yellow topazes, rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, peridot, zircons, spinel and aquamarines.
Queen Camilla’s crown was last worn by his great grand mother, Queen Mary the wife of King George VI.Queen Mary reigned alongside her husband from 1910 until 1936 his death.
Finally the Archbishop places St Edward’s Crown in the Kings head and peers paid homage to him with the most emotional one by Prince of Wales, his eldest son.
Prince William swears allegiance to King Charles III
The Prince kneeled before the King declaring:
“I, William, Prince of Wales, pledge my loyalty to you, and faith and truth I will bear unto you, as your liege man of life and limb. So help me God.”
The King’s Wife, Queen Camilla was also anointed and crowned by Archbishop Welby but in a lesser ceremony.
The ceremony ended with King Charles leaving the Church carrying the Royal Orb and Sceptre in his hands with the Royal procession behind him.
King Charles and Queen Camilla returned to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach
The King and Queen in the state coach
Watch The Crowning
Discover more from London Glossy Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.