Charles III was crowned King of the United Kingdom in a ceremony that had a lot of tradition and a bit of innovation at Westminster Abbey, attended by 2,200 guests.
Seated on St Edward’s oak throne, a chair with seven hundred years of history, the son of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) received the royal insignia representing his responsibilities as British head of state. Among them, the orb of the sovereign, the scepter with the cross and the scepter of the dove. Furthermore, he was anointed with oil consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
At the central moment of the protocol act, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, placed the crown on the head of Carlos III. It is a 2 kg piece made of gold and jewels in the likeness of the crown of Saint Edward, from the 17th century.
The archbishop then pronounced the well-known “God save the King”, which marked the beginning of the chimes and the sounding of the trumpets. The coronation of Charles III was followed by that of Camilla, who is called the queen, unlike Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, Prince Philip.
In a rainy London thousands of people gathered to watch the royal carriage go by on its way to the abbey. Some had attended, seventy years before, the coronation of Elizabeth II.
The whole world has followed Operation Golden Orb, the code name given to the coronation, an act between historical tradition, innovation and spectacle.
Carlos was the fortieth sovereign to be enthroned in the abbey and the oldest of all, at the age of 74.
The AP agency recalls that today’s population in the United Kingdom is very different from that which lived through the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Almost 20% are part of minority ethnic groups. In 1950 it was only 1%. More than 300 languages are spoken in British schools and less than half the population describe themselves as Christian.
Still, this has been a great event for the vast majority of Britons.
“It’s just being surrounded by love and seeing our King Carlos. He is our pillar,” said Jill Coughlin, a fan of the monarchy. “We love our queen and this is just another generation. So it’s wonderful for us, absolutely wonderful.”
