On May 6 the king was crowned in Westminster Abbey. He was crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury who is the highest priest in England. The King took an oath on the Holy Bible. Charles III has long let it be known that he wishes to be a Defender of Faiths in general and not just Christianity.
Much of central London was sealed off for 12 hours before the coronation. Heads of state and other VIPs from all over the world flocked to London to attend the coronation. The First Lady of the United States represented her country. Joe Biden chose not to attend. The Prime Minister of Jamaica came despite saying his country shall do away with the monarchy in short order.
The coronation took place in the same church where kings have been crowned for almost 1,000 years. Westminster Abbey is also the resting place of many monarchs and prime ministers.
It rained intermittently throughout the day. Nonetheless, over 2 million people were on the streets. However, very few were able to get near the action. Many of them were Londoners or from other parts of the UK. But people from far-off lands came to London for the festive occasion.
At 74 Charles is the oldest monarch ever crowned. His queen is Camilla. She is the first royal mistress to become queen since 1533.
The King was keen to be more inclusive. He had a black woman play a key role in the ceremony. Moreover, the Lord President of the Council who carried the sword before him is a woman named Penny Mordaunt. Miss Mordaunt is the first ever female to perform that role.
The procession was much scaled-down since the last such ceremony in 1953. There are no more huge parades of thousands of soldiers from different Commonwealth realms. In 1953 Canada, Rhodesia (Zambia and Zimbabwe) and even Pakistan were all realms reigned over by Elizabeth II and all sent troops.
The British Police wanted to make sure that they could easily control the situation. Minor attempts to disrupt the procession were easily contained. There was no violence at all. The shorter procession route made it simple for the police to handle the situation. Inclement weather also prevented crowds from swelling.
The ceremony was less spectacular than some had hoped for. But Charles III wants a slimmed-down and more humble monarchy. His younger brother Prince Andrew attended. This is surely the last time that Charles will want scandal struck Andrew seen in public.
Charles’ grandson Prince George was one of the train bearers. The 10-year-old is the oldest son of Charles’ eldest son William. George is therefore in line to be king himself one day.
When the Archbishop crowned the king he then asked everyone who wished to do so to take the oath of allegiance.
The King and his wife appeared on the balcony o Buckingham Palace to receive the adoration of their loyal subjects.