Britain’s King Charles III has been crowned in a once-in-a-generation royal eventwitnessed by hundreds of high-profile guests inside Westminster Abbey, as well as tens of thousands of well-wishers who gathered in central London despite the rain.
Story Courtneyof CNN News
While Charles became King on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II last September, the coronation on Saturday was the formal crowning of the monarch.
The service was a profoundly religious affair, reflecting the fact that aside from being head of state of the United Kingdom and 14 other countries, Charles is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
In the most significant moment of the day, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby placed the 360-year-old St. Edward’s Crown on Charles’ head. The spiritual leader of the Anglican Church then declared: “God Save the King.”
The intricate service lasted just over two hours — about an hour shorter than Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 — and followed a traditional template that has stayed much the same for more than 1,000 years.
However, it has been modernized in certain key ways. The archbishop acknowledged the multiple faiths observed in the UK during the ceremony, saying the Church of England “will seek to foster an environment in which people of all faiths may live freely.”
The King took the Coronation Oath and became the first monarch to pray aloud at his coronation. In his prayer he asked to “be a blessing” to people “of every faith and conviction.”
In what is considered the most sacred part of the ceremony, the King was anointed with holy oil by the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was also presented with the coronation regalia, including the royal Robe and Stole, in what is known as the investiture part of the service.
Then, for the first time in coronation history, the archbishop invited the British public, as well as those from “other Realms,” to recite a pledge of allegiance to the newly crowned monarch and his “heirs and successors.”
Ahead of the event, some parts of the British media and public interpreted the invitation as a command, reporting that people had been “asked” and “called” to swear allegiance to the King. In the face of such criticism, the Church of England revised the text of the liturgy so that members of the public would be given a choice between saying simply “God save King Charles” or reciting the full pledge of allegiance.
The ceremony also included a reading from the Bible by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and, in another coronation first, gospel music.
Once the King was crowned, his wife, Queen Camilla, was crowned in her own, shorter ceremony with Queen Mary’s Crown — marking the first time in recent history that a new crown wasn’t made specifically for this occasion.
Music played a central part in the proceedings, and five new compositions were commissioned for the main part of the service, including an anthem by Lloyd Webber, who is better known for West End musicals.
Charles and Camilla arrived at Westminster Abbey in a splendid coach drawn by six horses, accompanied by the Household Cavalry.
After the ceremony, the newly crowned King and Queen rode back to Buckingham Palace in a much larger parade, featuring 4,000 members of the armed forces, 250 horses and 19 military bands.
The pomp and pageantry concluded with a royal salute and the customary balcony appearance by the King and family members. They and the crowds below watched a flypast of military aircraft, slimmed down because of the poor weather.
Some royal fans spent several days camping along the 1.3-mile (2km) route from Buckingham Palace, the British monarchy’s official London residence, to Westminster Abbey, the nation’s coronation church since 1066, in order to secure the best vantage point.
By early Saturday, the London Metropolitan Police Service announced that all viewing areas along the procession route were full and closed off to new arrivals.
The congregation, while including some 2,300 people, was much smaller than it was in 1953 when temporary structures had to be erected within the abbey to accommodate the more than 8,000 people on the guest list.
The doors to the abbey opened just before 8 a.m. local time and quickly started to fill up. Many of the guests, including top British officials, faith leaders and international representatives, were expected to take their seats more than an hour before the ceremony started — reflecting the huge logistical challenges presented by an event attended by hundreds of VIPs.
The guest list was a Who’s Who of British public life and politics: All Sunak’s living predecessors as prime minister were there: Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, UK opposition leader Keir Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt were also in attendance.
Approximately 100 of heads of states from around the world and dozens of members of foreign royal families traveled to London for the occasion.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel all attended the service, as did French President Emmanuel Macron.
US President Joe Biden did not travel to London. Instead US first lady Jill Biden led the American delegation, sitting next to Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska.
Plenty of celebrities also made an appearance, including singers Lionel Richie and Katy Perry, musician Nick Cave, actresses Emma Thompson, Maggie Smith, Joanna Lumley and Judi Dench, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and broadcaster Stephen Fry.
Last to arrive, just before the King and Queen, were the most senior members of King Charles’ family, his siblings and children, including Prince Harry who traveled to the UK from the US without his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and their two young children. Saturday is also Prince Archie’s 4th birthday.
Following the ceremony, Prince Harry did not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony with his father and selected members of the family. CNN understands that the prince, who is no longer a working royal, did not receive an invitation to join the family for this moment.
The King’s younger brother Prince Andrew was also missing from the traditional balcony appearance. Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019 over his ties to disgraced financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In January 2022, Andrew was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages after a judge ruled a sexual abuse civil lawsuit filed against him by Virginia Giuffre could proceed. The prince repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and the case was later settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
Any content which is considered unsuitable, unlawful, or offensive, includes personal details, advertises or promotes products, services or websites, or repeats previous comments will be removed.
User comments posted on this website are solely the views and opinions of the comment writer and are not a representation of or reflection of the opinions of TNN or its staff.
TNN reserves the right to remove, edit or censor any comments.
TNN accepts no liability and will not be held accountable for the comments made by users.