Britain is preparing for the coronation of King Charles III, due to take place on Saturday. Dozens of world leaders and heads of state have been invited to the historic event, while millions are expected to watch on television.
The ceremony will take place at London’s Westminster Abbey, where the funeral of Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was held in September following her death at the age of 96.
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will lead the two-hour coronation service. In a break with centuries of tradition, he will ask those attending the service and the millions watching on television to pledge aloud their allegiance to the King Charles, with the following words: “I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.”
For the first time, the service will also include female bishops and leaders of other faiths.
British pomp
It will be an event full of extraordinary pomp and pageantry. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. Charles, and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, will travel in the Diamond Jubilee state coach to the service.
Charles will sit upon the coronation chair, which has been used in the crowning of Britain’s monarchs for over 700 years. It encloses the Stone of Scone, an ancient ceremonial rock captured by King Edward I from the Scots in 1296. The king will be anointed with holy oil brought from Jerusalem. The processional cross includes fragments said to be from the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified, given by Pope Francis.
Every detail of the ceremony has historical and religious meaning, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told VOA.
“The coronation goes back over 1,000 years, since 973 A.D., when King Edgar was crowned in [the city of] Bath. The first coronation at Westminster Abbey that we know occurred was William the Conqueror in 1066. And the actual ritual has changed little over the centuries,” Fitzwilliams said.
Following the service, Charles and Camilla will proceed back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold state coach, which was built in 1762 and has been used in every coronation since 1831. It will be drawn by eight grey horses.
Street parties
Charles officially became king after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on September 8. The coronation is also a chance for the British public to celebrate their new monarch. Community street parties are planned across the country – although rainy weather, another British tradition, threatens to dampen the festivities.
It will echo Elizabeth’s coronation 70 years ago, but there will be important differences.
“You also had a 25-year-old queen. I mean here — and this is a problem with King Charles and Queen Camilla — and that is their age,” Fitzwilliams said.
Challenges
That is not the only challenge for the 74-year-old king. A recent poll showed 58% of the public supports the monarchy — but among 18- to 24-year-olds, the level of support is just 32%.
“I think that he realizes the challenges ahead of so far as the monarchy is concerned – it's very important that there should be some form of acceptance of the monarchy’s links to the slave trade in past years. His environmental credentials are impeccable, I mean, that appeals very, very considerably to a younger base,” Fitzwilliams said.
The fallout of Prince Harry and Meghan’s split from the royal family amid accusations of racism — denied by the palace — continues to overshadow the monarchy. Harry is due to attend the coronation alone and will play no part in the service.
Charles’ brother Prince Andrew has been effectively banished after settling a sex assault case. Some see dangers ahead for the monarchy.
“The big threat to the future of the House of Windsor is not mobs storming the gate. It’s not revolution. It’s becoming irrelevant. The queen always used to say, ‘We have to be seen to be believed.’ They have to play a part in national life,” Robert Hardman, author of Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II told The Associated Press.
The royal family will hope that the coronation provides an opportunity for public celebration and for renewal of the monarchy itself.
It will also mark a new chapter with new challenges that Charles at its head will have to navigate to keep the royal family relevant in the 21st century.
