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Just one day separates us from the historic event — the first coronation of a British monarch in 70 years. Basically, this solemn rite has not changed much over the last thousand years. For those who have forgotten or never knew what and how usually happens on the day of the coronation, we publish a detailed guide to the solemn event.
6:00 (8:00 in Moscow). Observation decks open along the route of the solemn procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. 70 years ago — on the day of Elizabeth’s coronation II — it was raining heavily, but despite this, crowds of spectators watched the solemn procession all the way. According to the BBC, there were approximately three million who wanted to see at least one eye the carriage in which the young queen and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh were sitting.
Among them were about two thousand journalists and five hundred photographers from 92 countries. This Saturday, May 6, rainy weather is again promised in London. But, most likely, this will not stop those wishing to join the main event in the life of the British monarchy. Some of them have been looking for a convenient point on Karl’s route since the middle of the week. III and Camille to spend the night at the chosen place on Friday.
7:15–8:30 a.m. Guests are starting to arrive at the checkpoints around Westminster Abbey. Since 1066, all the coronations of English kings have taken place there, and the current one will be the 40th in a row.
9:30–10:45 a.m. Heads of foreign states, representatives of foreign governments, members of the British Cabinet, first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, former British prime ministers, and, finally, members of foreign royal families and relatives of King Charles and his wife arrive at the temple. It must be said that the presence of foreign guests — this is a violation, and far from the only one, of the accepted coronation rules. The coronation should be a sacred sacrament, at which only the monarch and his people can be present. But Carl III decided to modernize it, and sent out invitations to his foreign colleagues. Therefore, on Friday, all the European nobility will gather in the London mansions of the embassies.
For example, King and Queen of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander and Maxima, King and Queen of Spain Philip and Letizia, King and Queen of Belgium Philip and Matilda will arrive. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden will arrive accompanied by his daughter Crown Princess Victoria. In addition, Crown Prince Fumihito of Japan and Crown Princess Kiko, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Mary, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Queen Anna Maria of Greece, Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal, and Prince Albert of Monaco have confirmed their presence. and Princess Charlene, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Custodian of the Crown of Romania Margareta, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, US President’s wife Jill Biden, heads of other foreign states and governments.
10:20. GState Carriage of the Diamond Jubilee, which will contain the king and queen, will set off. She will be accompanied by about 200 military personnel – an escort of the royal cavalry. Another thousand law enforcement officers will be on duty along the route.
10:53. Charles III and Camilla arrive at Westminster Abbey. It is already known that the crimson parliamentary robes, which are usually sewn individually for each monarch, Charles will borrow from his ancestors — in the name of economy and ecology. So tailors from Ede and Ravenscroft, London’s oldest tailor shop, founded in 1689, and the Royal School of Embroidery, refurbished the lining and gold stitching of the Canadian ermine-trimmed velvet robes worn by George VI in 1937 and Elizabeth II in 1953.
In addition, the monarch decided to abandon the traditional breeches and silk stockings, and, most likely, will put on a military uniform. As for the king’s wife, it is known for certain that she will be wearing a dress designed, according to The Sun, by one of her favorite designers. — Briton Bruce Oldfield. And although it is expected to have a modern cut, without flower embroidery — national emblems of the countries of Great Britain and the Commonwealth obviously will not do.
11:00. Charles III and Camilla enter the abbey through the Great West Door. The church service begins. Usually it consists of several main stages: recognition, coronation oath, anointing and investiture. But in the case of the current king, there may be surprises.
“Recognition” would require the monarch to stand in the center of the abbey and face north, south, east and west to “show himself to the people”. After that, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will declare him “undoubted king.” Guests are supposed to shout: “God save the king!”. After that, the archbishop will ask the monarch to kneel on a special low stool and take an oath to serve the people and the church and the oath on the gospel. And although in the text of the oath of Queen Elizabeth II, which she pronounced in 1953, there was a promise to be the defender of the faith, upholding the prerogative of the Church of England, and this, according to Karl, is not suitable for the current multi-confessional country, the king decided to leave it unchanged, because the ceremony coronation makes him head of that church.
This is followed by the anointing to the kingdom — this is exactly the procedure for which there is a coronation at all. The king will be stripped of his ceremonial vestments, dressed in a white linen robe that also served his grandfather, and he will sit on the throne of St. Edward, which has been used for this purpose since the beginning of the 14th century. What happens next is forbidden to take pictures and videos. And during the coronation of Elizabeth II the live broadcast was stopped at this time. Because the moment when the head, heart and hands of the monarch are smeared with holy oil — chrism consecrated in Jerusalem is considered too intimate.
In order to hide this from prying eyes, a special screen was made 2.6 meters high and 2.2 meters wide, which the “pages” — grandchildren Carl and Camilla — will be held up with poles hewn from an old, wind-blown 18th-century Windsor oak. The design on the screen was chosen by the king because it reminded him of the stained-glass window of the chapel in St. James’s Palace. It is a branched tree, on which 56 names of member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations are embroidered. At its base are the initials of King Charles IIIand this should show that he is a servant of his people.
Everything here is symbolic. The canvas was woven by English craftswomen from Australian and New Zealand wool. Well, the sacred oil was made from olives harvested in the groves of the Mount of Olives, a mountain range that stretches from the Old City of Jerusalem and is important to Christians and Jews. The olives were delivered from the monastery of Mary Magdalene, where the great-grandmother of Charles III, Princess Alice of Greece, and the monastery of the Ascension of the Lord are buried. They were pressed near Bethlehem, flavored with sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin and amber, as well as orange blossom, according to a formula used for centuries.
12.00. The Archbishop of Canterbury will place the Crown of Saint Edward on the monarch’s head. Before this ceremony, Charles will have to don a “supertunic” – a floor-length gold brocade coat made for the coronation of King George V in 1911, as well as a gold imperial robe. This is the oldest of all items of coronation vestments, made back in 1821.
It is embroidered with flowers symbolizing parts of Britain: English roses, Irish shamrocks, Scottish thistles and Welsh daffodils. Only then will the king be given the orb, then the coronation ring, scepter and wand. As a final chord, he will be crowned with the crown of St. Edward. At this moment, fanfares will sound throughout the UK, a gun salute will thunder in the Tower of London.
The final part of the coronation — homage. The king will move to the throne chair standing on a dais, which belonged to his grandfather George VI, but re-upholstered with new cloth. Then the Prince of Wales will pay homage to the king and swear allegiance to him by placing his hands between his palms and kissing his right hand. At the same time, ordinary Britons watching the ceremony from home, a bar or a cinema will be able to swear allegiance to the monarch “with the chorus of millions of voices”. The British media circulated the text of the oath:
I swear with all my heart allegiance to your majesty, and also to your heirs and successors in accordance with the law. God help me!
The Guardian reported that at the end of the King’s service, there will be a salute from representatives of the Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and Buddhist communities.
13:00. After Queen Camilla is crowned in a similar though greatly simplified way, the service ends. The crowned monarchs leave the abbey in an antique golden state carriage of Great Britain.
Around 2:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. Moscow), the king, queen, and working family members appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Source: Hellomagazine
Ashley Fitzgerald is a journalist and author at Gossipify, known for her coverage of famous people and their lives. She writes about a wide range of topics, including celebrities, influencers, social media stars, and public figures. Her articles are known for their in-depth analysis and unique perspective. She is respected for her ability to keep readers up to date with the latest news and trends of the famous people.
