Only 2,000 people will attend the coronation of King Charles III
New Delhi/London:
Charles III will be crowned king today in Britain’s biggest ceremony in seven decades. Thousands are expected to line the streets and millions more to watch at home and around the world.
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The coronation of King Charles III – the first of a British monarch since 1937 – is a religious confirmation of his enthronement following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, last September.
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He will become the oldest British monarch to wear the 360-year-old St Edward’s Crown when he ascends to the 14th-century throne at Westminster Abbey in London.
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Charles III and wife Camilla will travel to the abbey in a Diamond Jubilee State Coach drawn by six Windsor Gray horses, and escorted by members of the Household Cavalry, the king’s bodyguard.
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Only 2,000 people will attend the coronation – a fraction of the more than 8,000 guests who came to Westminster Abbey for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. Camilla will be crowned separately in a similar but simpler ceremony.
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It is a Christian service but there will be an “unprecedented” greeting from leaders of other faiths and Charles’s grandson Prince George and Camilla’s grandson will act as pages.
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Sunak, the British Prime Minister and a practicing Hindu sage, will also make history by reading from the Bible as the head of the UK government.
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The event will be on a smaller scale than the one held for Queen Elizabeth in 1953, but will still aim to be spectacular, with gold jewelry for the scepter holding the world’s largest colorless cut diamond. and will feature everything from bejeweled swords to historic regalia.
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Princes Harry and Andrew will both attend the coronation of King Charles III, but will have no formal role in the proceedings – confirming they will be out in the cold. The pair will also be absent from the public procession following the ceremony following the gold state coach carrying the newly crowned monarch from the abbey back to Buckingham Palace.
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After the service, the King and Queen would return to Buckingham Palace in a gold state coach in a large ceremonial “coronation procession”. He will be joined by other members of the royal family and around 4,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers in full regalia.
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After returning to Buckingham Palace, the couple and other British royals will make a traditional appearance on the balcony with a fly-past by military aircraft.
With inputs from agencies.