Buckingham Palace has revealed more details of King Charles III’s coronation, which will take place in London in less than a month.
The new British sovereign will be crowned alongside his wife, Camilla, in a deeply religious service at Westminster Abbey on the morning of May 6.
There will be two processions through the streets of the British capital on coronation day: one leading the King to be crowned and a larger parade back to Buckingham Palace after the historic service, where the monarch and members of the royal family will make an appearance on the balcony.
In addition to new details about the coronation procession routes, carriages and insignia, a new emoji was created to mark the celebrations.
Based on St Edward’s Crown, it will appear on Twitter when coronation hashtags are used that weekend.
Journey to Westminster
For the trip to the service, King Charles chose to travel on the Diamond Jubilee State coach.
One of the newest carriages in the Royal Collection, it was built in Australia and handed over to the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2014, when it was first used at the State Opening of Parliament that year.
“The interior is beautifully upholstered in primrose yellow silk and also fitted within the interior, our private specimen woods. It is a true microcosm of British and world history. There is wood from royal residences, from farms and from other countries and nations too,” says Sally Goodsir, curator of decorative arts at the Royal Collection Trust.
She says one thing that may surprise supporters is the size of the vehicle.
“It is significantly taller than any car on the road today, and has a huge golden crown on top – amazingly carved from oak from HMS Victory, one of the flagships of the Royal Navy from the 18th century,” explains Goodsir.
“It’s incredibly moving – this golden carriage carrying the sovereign beautifully lit from the inside so they can be seen by the crowd on coronation day.”
royal procession
After the service, the coronation procession – which will be much larger in scale – will make its way back to the palace.
It will feature “Armed Forces from across the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories and all Services of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, alongside the Sovereign’s Bodyguard and Royal Watermen,” according to the palace.
This time, Charles and Camilla will be transported in the Gold State Coach, which has been used at every coronation since William IV in 1831.
“It is almost four meters high. It is over seven meters long. It weighs four tons. Therefore, it can only be used at a walking pace, which really adds to the majesty and grandeur of this grand royal procession,” says Goodsir.
“There are very few monarchies that have kept trainers working at this age and so it is an incredibly special thing to see.”
She adds that it’s covered in painted panels “that exemplify” what George III, who was monarch when the carriage was built in 1762, believed it would bring to the nation.
“Protect arts such as architecture and sculpture; protecting the peace in this nation, there are figures of Mars and Minerva, the classic war gods, but they are not at war, in fact they are holding the British crown aloft. So there are a lot of messages and symbolism,” she continues.
Back at Buckingham Palace, the armed forces in the parade will salute the royal couple, followed by three cheers from the assembled service personnel.
The weekend will also see a major music concert at Windsor Castle, similar to the star-studded show during Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations last year, as well as street parties across the country and a day of volunteering.
monarch symbols
The palace also outlined the coronation robes, which are “sacred and secular objects” symbolic of the “monarch’s responsibilities” that will be presented at the Westminster service.
The insignia – which are held by the monarch on behalf of the nation – have played a major role at coronation services for centuries.
Among the treasures to be used, which are usually on public display in the Tower of London, will be the Imperial State Crown, which is used only for ceremonial events and was made for the coronation of King George VI in 1937.
Charles will exchange it for the Crown of St. Edward at the end of the service.
Made from solid gold and trimmed with ermine and velvet, it’s notoriously heavy – weighing in at over 2.23 kg.
As previously announced, Camilla will be reusing the Crown of Queen Mary, the King’s great-grandmother, instead of ordering a new one.
Two heavy maces made of gilded silver over oak and various ceremonial swords – the Sword of State, the Sword of Temporal Justice, the Sword of Spiritual Justice, and the Sword of Mercy – will also be used.
In addition, various instruments of state will be presented, including the Sovereign’s orb and two scepters, which represent the monarch’s temporal power and spiritual role.
Guest list
It was also revealed that over 850 community representatives and key workers are being invited to the festivities in recognition of their philanthropic work.
The guest list includes 450 British Empire medal winners, who will form part of the 2,000-strong congregation, as well as 400 young people from organizations selected by Charles and Camilla, who will get a special private view of the coronation at nearby St Margaret’s Church.
The elaborate coronation invitation reflecting the King’s love of nature was unveiled last week, with royal observers quickly focusing on the use of the title “Queen Camilla” for the first time.
A royal source told CNN that “it made sense” to refer to Camilla as queen consort in the first months of the new king’s reign, to “distinguish from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”.
The source added that the coronation is “an appropriate time” for the transition of titles and that “all former queen consorts are known as ‘queen’ plus their first name”.
Source: CNN Brasil
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