Charles will be the 40th reigning monarch to be crowned at the central London church since King William I in 1066…reports Asian Lite News
Charles III will be officially crowned king on Saturday, in a solemn religious service, eight months after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
The set-piece coronation at Westminster Abbey on May 6 is the first in Britain in 70 years, and only the second in history to be televised.
Charles will be the 40th reigning monarch to be crowned at the central London church since King William I in 1066.
Outside the UK, he is also king of 14 other Commonwealth countries, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Camilla, his second wife, will be crowned queen.
For the royals, the occasion – described by the government as a “new chapter in our magnificent national story” – is a cause for celebration.
There are commemorative coins and chinaware as well as a special recipe – Coronation Quiche – and a series of celebratory events throughout the weekend.
But last month, there has been grumbling about the cost and signs of public apathy, as well as plans for republican protests. The ceremony itself, expected to be about an hour long, sees the Crown Jewels and the Coronation Chair take centre stage at the abbey.
The jewels are normally kept under lock and key at the Tower of London, while the chair has been used at every coronation ceremony since 1308. Despite the ancient rituals of blessing a monarch with consecrated holy oil, there will be some nods to modernity.
Charles and Camilla’s grandchildren will take part in the ceremony, watched by more than 2,000 invited dignitaries – a quarter of those in attendance in 1953.
Among them will be Charles’ younger son, Prince Harry, despite his stinging criticisms of royal life since moving to California three years ago. The display of gilded coaches, liveried troops and sparkling jewels comes at a tricky time in the UK, as many Britons struggle with rising prices due to high inflation.
Unsurprisingly, there has been some push-back at the cost: one survey this week suggested 51 percent believed that taxpayers should not foot the bill. Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 cost £912,000 – equivalent to £20.5 million now.
Senior UK government minister Oliver Dowden has promised there will not be “lavishness or excess”. But he added: “It is a marvellous moment in our history and people would not want a dour scrimping and scraping.”
One survey this month indicated that while many were happy to have a long weekend, just over a third (35 percent) of people “do not care very much” about the coronation. Just under a third (29 percent) said they “do not care at all”, with apathy greatest among younger age groups.
Historic chairs to be reused for Coronation service
The King has recycled royal coats of arms that decorated a chair used during King George VI’s coronation for his own enthronement.
After Charles is crowned he will move to a throne chair used by his grandfather and now re-upholstered but featuring the original embroidered coats of arms on the front and back that have been conserved.
The Queen Consort has an identical chair, used by the Queen Mother during George VI’s 1937 coronation, but her coats of arms have replaced those of the Queen Mother, having been newly embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework (RSN).
Caroline de Guitaut, deputy surveyor of the King’s Works of Art at the Royal Collection Trust, said: “For His Majesty King Charles III’s coronation he has wanted very much to re-use things where possible and obviously it’s an incredibly efficient and sustainable thing to do.
“So it’s giving the chairs I suppose a new life in a slightly different guise, but at the same time respecting that they are historic objects, and conserving them for the future.”
During the coronation service a succession of chairs will be used by the King, who will move from a chair of estate to sit in the ancient coronation chair to be crowned, and finally take his seat in the aptly named throne chair, for the enthronement and homage elements of the service.
The Queen Consort will also be seated in a chair of estate where she will be crowned and later take her place in a throne chair.
The chairs of estate, originally made for Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh to use during the late monarch’s 1953 coronation, have also been re-upholstered, and Charles and Camilla’s cyphers embroidered by the RSN to decorate the back rests.