Guests, dress code and Harry without Megan: the essentials that we know about the coronation ceremony of Charles III

According to tradition, after the death of the monarch, the country must remain in mourning for some time, so the coronation did not take place immediately. On October 11, 2022, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the coronation would take place on Saturday, May 6, 2023. Interestingly, Charles is crowned less than a month before the momentous date – the 70th anniversary of Elizabeth II’s coronation. She ascended the throne on February 6, 1952, but was officially crowned on June 2, 1953.

In addition to King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, the entire family of William, Prince of Wales is expected to attend the coronation, along with his eldest son Prince George to serve as page of honor during the service. The roles that will be assigned to Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at the ceremony have not yet been announced. In the meantime, after much gossip, Prince Harry has confirmed that he will be attending Westminster Abbey on this solemn day, but his wife Meghan Markle will still be staying at home in California with their children. By the way, their firstborn Archie’s birthday falls on the date of the coronation.

Westminster Abbey has been the coronation site of British monarchs for the past 900 years, and Charles III would not break that tradition.

In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II said she “sincerely wishes” the former Duchess of Cornwall to assume the title of Queen Consort when Charles takes the throne, so that Camilla will be crowned along with the monarch. She will be the first royal bride to be crowned since Queen Mother in 1937, and will be crowned with Queen Mary’s diamond-encrusted crown (as a man, Prince Philip was not entitled to such an honour). Incidentally, on the invite, Camilla is listed simply as “Queen”, not “Queen Consort”.

Invitations have already been sent to 2,000 guests. Among them will be members of the Royal Family, representatives of the Houses of Parliament and the Church, prominent politicians from Commonwealth countries and around the world. The number of guests is actually relatively small, considering that more than 8,000 people attended the coronation of Elizabeth II.

The invitations themselves were created by heraldic artist Andrew Jamieson. The edges of the card are decorated with British prairie plants – rose hips, bluebells, wild strawberries and blueberries. At the bottom center of the invitation is an image of a character from British folklore that symbolizes rebirth.

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Although the ceremony is taking place in a traditional venue, the event itself will be different in many ways from the coronation of Carl’s mother. According to a press release, the king wants the coronation to be “in the spirit of our times” and also “to reflect the role of the monarch today and the outlook for the future”.

Insiders say the ceremony will be shorter than the three hours set aside for the Queen’s coronation, which will last just over an hour in total. It will also cost the Treasury less. Additionally, Carl wants more representatives of different religions and social groups to participate in order to more fairly represent the nation’s ethnic diversity.

Traditionally peers, i.e. the dukes, marquises, earls and barons who made up the British aristocracy wore scarlet velvet robes edged with ermine at their coronations. They were also combined with tiara headdresses, the style of which varied according to the rank of the individual. But the new king is said to have demanded that his peers wear their “regular parliamentary robes” as they wear every year at the official opening of parliament, or just standard business attire.

The King has personally commissioned 12 new pieces, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Coronation Hymn and Patrick Doyle’s Coronation March. Andrew Netsinga, organist and Master of Choristers at Westminster Abbey, will lead the musical accompaniment throughout the ceremony, while Antonio Pappano of the Royal Opera House will conduct the Coronation Orchestra. Also expected are performances by the Ascension Choir, made up of gospel singers, and a Byzantine Song Ensemble, which will perform Greek Orthodox music in honor of the late Prince Philip.

It is not yet known whether modern popular artists will perform. Many people Carl would like to see have already declined the invitation, such as Elton John, the Spice Girls and Harry Styles.

Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was the first of its kind to be televised, attracting an estimated 27 million viewers in the UK at the time. This figure could easily be exceeded this spring. After all, in the United States, the cable television networks that broadcast the Queen’s funeral live, including NBC, CNN, ABC and Fox News, will now broadcast the coronation. Thus, Megan will not miss anything, even at home.

It was presented on February 10 by Buckingham Palace. The emblem was created by former Apple chief designer Sir Jony Ive and his creative team LoveFrom. The emblem combines the symbols of the four peoples of the United Kingdom: the rose of England, the thistle of Scotland, the daffodil of Wales and the shamrock of Northern Ireland. Together the flowers create the shape of St Edward’s Crown, with which Charles III would be crowned.

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