New Delhi: King Charles III was officially crowned the 40th monarch of the United Kingdom, at a traditional ceremony with modern multi-faith touches amid pomp, pageantry and choir music, inside Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday. The 74-year-old monarch was formally enthroned with a 360-year-old jewel-encrusted St. Edward’s Crown amid chants of “God Save the King”, church bells and trumpets.
After the Coronation ceremony, the King and Queen Camilla made their customary appearance at the balcony of Buckingham Palace. They were accompanied by the Prince and Princess Wales, William and Kate, and a selection of frontline royals, who waved at the people who gathered at the place to catch a glimpse of the newly crowned royals.
Here are the key points of the coronation ceremony:
- The two-hour religious ceremony began with Charles taking an oath of service before the Archbishop of Canterbury opened the service, that also included a reading by Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
- Part of the sacred coronation ceremony also involved Charles and Camilla being symbolically re-married in the eyes of God to take on the oath of service together.
- Ahead of the ceremony, after a regal procession riding in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach bearing a gilded crown, the King and Queen reached the Abbey from Buckingham Palace, accompanied by military personnel on foot and on horseback.
- Faith leaders and representatives of the Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist and Jewish communities processed through the Abbey ahead of the ceremony and the House of Lords peers of Indian heritage handed over key regalia to King Charles.
- After they reached the Westminster Abbey, King Charles was greeted by a congregation of around 2,200, comprising heads of state and government, worldwide royalty and community champions.
- The religious ceremony was made up of five key stages: Recognition, Oath, Anointing, Investiture and Crowning, and the Enthronement and Homage.
- As per tradition, King Charles was officially crowned with St. Edward’s Crown. It was removed from the Tower of London to be resized for the King ahead of the service. Queen Camilla wore Queen Mary’s crown, that was designed for the coronation of June 1911 when it contained three large diamonds, including the Kohinoor which was later replaced by crystal replicas.
- While Queen Camilla was “anointed” with holy oil in full public view, King Charles was anointed behind a cloth screen depicting a central design of a tree with branches filled with 56 leaves representing the Commonwealth of nations.