Charles III has been crowned the King of England alongside Camilla as the Queen Consort, in a ceremony full of music and symbolism inside Westminster Abbey on Saturday, 6 May, 2023.
The coronation service of King Charles III and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, is underway and it is being witnessed by hundreds of high-profile guests inside the abbey, as well as tens of thousands of well-wishers who have gathered in central London despite the rain.
The coronation ceremony, steeped in centuries of tradition but with a few small tweaks for the modern age, was playing out in front of about 2,000 invited guests and a global audience of millions watching on TV or livestream.
Though Charles officially became king following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on 8 September, 2022, today’s coronation ceremony consecrates and celebrates his ascent.
The King has taken 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.”
He was then anointed with holy oil by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church who is leading the ceremony.
The anointment is considered the most sacred part of the ceremony and as such took place behind a three-sided screen.
The King was then presented with the coronation regalia, including the royal Robe and Stole, in what is known as the investiture part of the service.
He was then crowned with the 360-year-old St. Edward’s Crown, the most significant part of the coronation service. After crowning the King, Welby said: “God Save the King.”
This stage of the ceremony will be followed by enthronement and homage.
The King and Queen arrived at Westminster Abbey in a splendid coach drawn by six horses, accompanied by the Household Cavalry.
They then walked down the long aisle wearing historic robes, flanked by the top officials of the Church of England as well as some of their closest family members.
Despite the splendor of the occasion, it has not been without controversy. Some have objected to millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money being spent on a lavish ceremony at a time when millions of Britons are suffering a severe cost-of-living crisis.
The coronation has also attracted anti-monarchy demonstrations, with a small number of protesters arrested in central London on Saturday morning before the event began.
Some royal fans spent the past few 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.
Their desire to secure the best vantage point for the procession was tested on Friday when London was repeatedly doused by heavy rain and hail.
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 Met said ahead of time that Saturday would be the largest one-day policing operation in decades, with more than 11,500 officers on duty in London. Security around the event came into focus earlier this week when a man was arrested just outside Buckingham Palace after he allegedly threw suspected shotgun cartridges into the palace grounds.
The ceremony was expected to last two hours — about an hour shorter than Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. It began with the recognition and oath, followed by a reading from the Bible by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and — in a coronation first — gospel music.
The doors to the abbey opened just before 8 a.m. local time, with the first guests taking their seats a full three hours before the ceremony began.
Among the first people to arrive were singer Lionel Richie, musician Nick Cave, actresses Emma Thompson, Joanna Lumley and Judi Dench, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, and broadcaster Stephen Fry.
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.
First Lady of the United States Jill Biden and the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry were there, as was the Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and numerous other world leaders were also present.