Charles III, crowned King of England

London is the scene this Saturday of the first coronation of a monarch in seven decades. Carlos III, king from the moment his mother died, on September 8, 2022, has been formally crowned in a ceremony that is practically ruled by tradition but open to details of the times, from an air-conditioned carriage to a detailed audiovisual follow-up from start to finish and from all angles.

Elizabeth II made history as the monarch who has been on the throne the longest, so the last coronation dates from June 2, 1953. The ceremony, the first of its kind broadcast on television, will be replicated 70 years later with the novelty that, for the first time since 1937, a queen consort has also been crowned alongside the king, in this case the Queen Camilla.

Procession

The celebrations have formally started with a procession from Buckingham Palace, at around 10:20 am (11:20 am in the Basque Country). The monarchs have had military custody and family accompaniment, but the entourage has been considerably smaller than the one that accompanied Elizabeth II in 1953, in which members of other royal families and political leaders participated.

Carlos III has also introduced as a novelty the float used to get around, since it was not going to move in a carriage built in 1762 and used in all coronations since 1831. Instead, it has used another carriage built in 2012, to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, and which it is lighter and more comfortable.

The procession arrived at Westminster Abbey shortly before 11:00 a.m. (12:00 p.m. in the Basque Country). The temple has already served for 13 previous coronations (the first was in the year 1066) and will host the main events of the day, for which the Royal Family has issued some 2,000 invitations.

The guest list includes members of the current government, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and former Downing Street tenants, as well as representatives of royal houses and heads of state and government from other countries, although much of the eye is on on members of the British royal family.

He Prince of Wales, William, first in the line of succession, has held a prominent role, as has his eldest son, Prince George, who has served as page of honor. The youngest son of Carlos III, Enrique, publicly confronted with his family, has also attended the ceremony, although not his wife, Meghan Markle, nor his children, who have stayed in the United States.

Ceremony

Thus, Carlos III has been presented to the people, proclaimed as “undisputed king” next to a 700-year-old chair of history (it is considered the oldest piece of furniture in the United Kingdom and has seen 26 kings pass by). The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has read the first statement and attendees have chanted “God save the king” after each public proclamation.

After this first stage comes that of oaths, of a legal and also religious nature (as king, Carlos III also heads the Anglican church), before giving way to one of the great images of this ceremony. The monarch has removed his ceremonial robes before sitting in the coronation chair and being anointed by the archbishop, a moment that has traditionally been done in private as it is considered intimate.

Next, Carlos III received an embroidered ‘super-tunic’ and was shown some of the great emblems of his house, including the Orb of the Sovereign, the Coronation Ring, the Scepter of the Sovereign with the Cross and the Scepter of the Sovereign with the Dove. For the first and last time in his life, the king has donned the crown of Saint Edward, made in the 17th century for Carlos II and which weighs more than two kilos.

The abbey bells rang for two minutes, before Charles III sat on the throne and began to receive public loyalty, including that of his eldest son and heir to the throne.

Later, and more briefly, the queen’s time has come, who has also been anointed, crowned and enthroned, although in a simpler ceremony and in which she has not had to take an oath, as she is a consort. In her case, she has been given the crown of Queen Mary, which dates back to 1911.

Last goodbye

The king and queen will leave the abbey at around 1:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. in the Basque Country) to head back to Buckingham Palace, now in the historic carriage. Again, about 2.3 kilometers of route that will be crowded with citizens and in which there will be strict security measures.

Since Edward VII’s coronation in 1902, it has been a tradition for the new monarch to greet citizens from the central balcony of the palace while they watch the planes fly by. The Royal House has already confirmed that Carlos III, who already went out on the balcony when he was a child in 1953, will continue with this tradition.

Mandatory

The main leaders of America, with the notable exclusion of the Brazilian Lula da Silva and the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, have been absent from the ceremony, and have been represented by their foreign ministers, ambassadors and even spouses.

The White House announced on April 4 that the President of the United States, Joe Biden, would not attend the event, and the first lady, Jill Biden, would attend instead. That same day, the North American president telephoned the monarch to congratulate him on the coronation.

Those who have been are the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the kings of SpainFelipe VI and Letizia.

Senior officials from seven former British Caribbean colonies have also attended the ceremony: The Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Saint Kitts, Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has represented the Pope Francisco at the coronation ceremony of King Carlos III, since Francisco, who is already 86 years old, suffers from knee problems that prevent him from moving normally and had to be admitted for a few days at the end of last March after suffering “acute pneumonia” .