Down the aisle: all the similarities and differences between the coronation of Elizabeth II and her son Charles III in facts and figures

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Buckingham Palace has finally officially announced the date for the coronation of King Charles III. Media around the world immediately began to speculate what it would be. But the main thing that is already known today is that the ceremony will be much shorter, more modest and cheaper than all the previous ones.

Buckingham Palace is pleased to announce that the coronation of His Majesty the King will take place on Saturday 6 May 2023. The ceremony will take place at Westminster Abbey in London, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury. At the ceremony, His Majesty King Charles III will be crowned along with the Queen Consort. The coronation will reflect the modern role of the monarch and will be directed to the future, while relying on ancient traditions and entertainment. Further details will be announced in due course.

Ancient traditions are, first of all, the procedure of religious coronation itself. Great Britain is the only European monarchy in which it still exists. In countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, the head of state, during a secular solemn ceremony, swears to uphold the constitution. And the law “makes” him king, not the coronation. So is Carl III is already a king. According to the Act of Succession of 1701, the crown in Britain passes to the heir automatically. On September 10, the Council of Succession officially announced what had already happened.

As for the coronation, it is a thousand-year-old religious ritual during which the new monarch, who is the supreme ruler of the Church of England, receives the “anointing, blessing and consecration” of the Archbishop of Canterbury. For 900 years, this procedure has been carried out in Westminster Abbey. Almost 70 years have passed since the last such ceremony. And supporters of the “modernization” of the monarchy demand that instead of the coronation, Charles III held, if he really wants a holiday, a secular ceremony. But for him, this ritual is more than just a confirmation of his royal status.

Coronation of Elizabeth II took place at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953. Little Karl was present at it and with his own eyes, sitting next to his grandmother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, he saw how his 27-year-old mother was handed four symbols of power – a power, a scepter, a scepter of mercy and a royal ring with sapphire and rubies. The Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher then placed the crown of Saint Edward on her head. This crown is modeled after the crown of St. Edward, which was made for the coronation of Charles II in 1660. It is crowned with a cross with a dark blue sapphire weighing 167 carats, cut in the shape of a rose. The crown is made of more than three thousand diamonds, 277 pearls, as well as sapphires, emeralds and rubies. In total, as the British media have already calculated, the crowned monarch and in his hands during the ceremony contain jewelry worth $ 4 billion. Each of them symbolizes something important for his future reign.

Carl is also expected III will want to sit with all these regalia in the St. Edward’s chair, which has been used at the coronations of British monarchs since 1308. According to British experts, the new king will not deny himself the pleasure of driving with his queen consort in a golden carriage, as his mother Elizabeth once drove through the streets of London. II. Before that, at the end of May 1953, spectator seats were built on the sides of the road along the entire route of the coronation procession, for which tickets were sold in advance.

But, unlike the future coronation of Charles IIIThat ceremony was more or less spontaneous. In 1952, Elizabeth did not expect to ascend the throne in the near future – her 56-year-old father, King George VI died unexpectedly. Therefore, there were no preliminary plans for the coronation, and the beloved husband of the monarch, the Duke of Edinburgh, had to plunge into a completely new activity for him – the organization of the ceremony. They say that Elizabeth and Philip were criticized for the celebration too large for post-war Britain, and most importantly, for its broadcast on television. This religious ceremony was watched by 20 million viewers around the world.

The only moment that was considered too personal and was not included in the films about the ascension of Elizabeth II to the throne is the communion of the young queen during the solemn service. At the same time, about eight thousand guests attended the coronation, including members of the royal family, prime ministers of the Commonwealth states, peers, representatives of the House of Commons and all major public circles in Great Britain, as well as representatives of foreign states. Historians estimate the cost of the coronation was £1.57 million. By the way, the costs are traditionally borne by the government of the country.

In the case of King Charles, there was plenty of time to plan the ceremony. Dr John Hall, the former dean of Westminster Abbey, compared the two ceremonies to religious sacraments. The coronation of Elizabeth was a kind of baptism of a child, and the coronation of Charles will become a conscious confirmation of an adult. According to the old British tradition, a special “operation” was developed for this. She received the name “Golden State”. Representatives of Prince Charles met annually with employees of relevant ministries and the Archbishop of Canterbury to provide for everything to the smallest detail. But the monarch can still change something, with the consent of Prime Minister Liz Truss and Archbishop Justin Welby.

For today, Charles is expected to shorten the duration of the ceremonial service, cut down on the number of guests and abandon some of the more outdated rituals. The only ritual that will definitely migrate to 2023 from 1937 is when, together with King George VI His wife, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, received the royal anointing with oil. With the light hand of Elizabeth IIwho announced in February of this year her desire for Camilla Parker-Bowles to become queen, Carl’s wife is crowned with him.