Date set for the coronation of Charles III
The new British monarch will be crowned on Saturday 6 May 2023 in a ceremony rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry at Westminster Abbey.
King Charles III of the United Kingdom will be crowned on Saturday 6 May 2023 in a solemn ceremony at Westminster Abbey London with the Queen Consort, Camila, Buckingham Palace announced in a statement on Tuesday.
The 73-year-old British monarch, who ascended to the throne automatically after the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, will receive, after a period of several months of mourning and preparation for the ceremony, the crown, the scepter and the orb, symbols of his reign.
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The religious rite will be officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and “will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry,” Buckingham Palace said.
The coronation is a rite that has remained almost unchanged since the Norman conquest of England in 1066, and has been celebrated for nearly 900 years in Westminster Abbey.
The ceremony will have news
The religious service in May will foreseeably include the main traditional elements that have been repeated without alteration for centuries along with some novel components, in accordance with the “spirit of our time.” This could include the prescence of a wider range of religions.
Experts hope that Charles III will opt for a somewhat more modest ceremony than his mother’s lavish three-hour-long coronation on 2 June 1953, and that it reflects his desire to apply some austerity to British royalty. Especially in light of the rising cost of living that has been hitting households hard.
The new monarch will swear before the archbishop his intention to rule his country and the other 14 of which he is head of state, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand, “in agreement to their respective laws and customs”, as well as to apply “law and justice” in his decisions.
Camila will be crowned queen consort
At the same time, Camila will also be crowned along with Charles III as Queen Consort “in a similar but simpler ceremony.” It should be remembered that only in the event that the new monarch is a woman, her husband is not crowned or anointed with her, as happened with the husband of Elizabeth II, Prince Philip of Edinburgh.
Buckingham Palace has indicated that “in due course” more details will be announced on the organization of the ceremony, the precedent of which, held in 1953, brought together heads of state and government in London of the Commonwealth and numerous countries.