England is about to write a new page of the British monarchy: thecoronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Westminster Abbey in London, scheduled Saturday May 6. With the death of Queen Elizabeth II, occurred on 8 September, Charles III (aged 75 in November) formally became King of the United Kingdom and fourteen other Commonwealth realms. Now, after months of painstaking preparations, the day of his coronation has arrived.
No monarchy knows how to catalyze attention as the House of Windsor. The ceremonial is one of the most important and spectacular, marked by a rigid protocol which will be followed by concerts and parties for three days. Very select guests, thousands of people who will crowd the streets of London, millions who will follow the celebrations live on television. But how does the ceremony take place? Will Harry and Megan be there? Who will perform at the coronation concert? Here you are everything you need to know on the coronation of King Charles III: the 40th reigning monarch and the oldest in history to ascend the throne.
Coronation of King Charles III: how will the ceremony take place?
The two royals will depart at 10am from Buckingham Palace and head to theWestminster Abbey. Unlike the five-mile journey the Queen made in 1953, the route will be significantly shorter (1,3 miles).
The ceremony will begin at 11 (12 in Italy), punctuated by music selected personally by the King. Among the 12 songs also one by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The five stages of the ceremony
The fundamental elements of the ceremony are five: the recognition, oath, the anointing, the investiture andenthronement. Recognition takes place when the sovereign will be presented "to the people" by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will proclaim him "undoubted king". The congregation will respond with, “God Save the King!” (“God save the king”). After being sworn in, the Archbishop of Canterbury will proceed to anoint Charles III, which is considered the most sacred part of the ceremony.
At this point the moment of the coronation will come, when the King will wear the St Edward's Crown for the only time in his life.
The next part is the investiture, when the sovereign is dressed in the sacred robes of the coronation and presented with the symbols of the monarchy: the orb, the coronation ring, the scepter with the cross and the scepter with the dove. The fifth and final phase will be that of enthronement: the King will ascend the throne and homage will be paid to him by his eldest son, the prince William.
After the ceremony, King Charles III will wear the Imperial State Crown, before joining the procession back to Buckingham Palace and waving to the crowds from the balcony alongside members of the royal family.
Will Camilla be crowned Queen?
After the coronation, simpler than the King, Camilla will be officially known as "Queen Camilla" instead of "Queen consort". Charles' former lover - once hated by British subjects and also by Queen Elizabeth for having "destroyed" the marriage of the century between Charles and Lady Diana – will be the first Queen of England with a divorce behind.
Who will be King after Charles III?
There is a pre-established order of succession for the heirs to the throne, regulated by the Act of Settlement of 1701, by the Succession to the Crown Act of 2013 (which modified male-preference primogeniture: no distinction, therefore, between male and female) and by the Common law. So, after King Charles III, the line of succession involves William and his three children: George (9 years), Charlotte (8 years) e Louis (5 years).
Who was invited? And who won't be there?
Another difference from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II is the number of guests. In 53, to accommodate the over 8.000 people invited, temporary structures had to be erected inside the abbey. At the coronation of King Charles III, however, the guests will be around 2.000.
Members of the royal family
The royal family will be (almost) complete. The Prince William and Kate will be present, as well as two brothers of the King, Anna, Princess Royal e Edoardo, Duke of Edinburgh. Even the Prince Harry confirmed that he will participate, but his wife Meghan no. The coronation coincides with the fourth birthday of the couple's son, Prince Archie, but in reality the accusations of racism launched from Oprah Winfrey's sofa, combined with the unedifying picture that emerges from the Netflix series and also from Harry's book, (The Spare), would have made a full reunion very embarrassing. The Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, will be present, but his ex-wife, the Duchess of York, Sarah fergusonwill not participate. Instead, daughters Beatrice and Eugenie and Princess Anne's daughter, Zara Tindall, with husband Mike Tindall will attend.
The grandchildren of King Charles and Camilla will also be present, some of whom will take part in the ceremony. The Prince George, son of William and Kate, will be one of the “pages of honour”. The Queen's three grandchildren (Gus, Louis, Freddy and Arthur) will also have the same role.
Politicians, world leaders, foreign royals and VIPs
Prominent political figures and world leaders will also be among the attendees. Obviously the prime minister Rishi sunak former UK Prime Ministers such as Liz Truss and Tony Blair will attend, as well as the new Scottish Prime Minister Humza Yousaf.
The French President will also be present Emmanuel Macron with his wife Brigitte. While the President of the United States Joe Biden no, but First Lady Jill Biden will take her place. The President of the Republic will be present for Italy Sergio Mattarella and for Germany the President of the Federal Republic, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Among the prime ministers of the Commonwealth area there will be the Australian Anthony Albanese and the Pakistani, Shehbaz Sharif. While, for obvious reasons, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Belarusian one, Alexander Lukashenko, they were not invited.
Breaking with tradition, i members of foreign royal families will travel to London for the ceremony: including those from Spain, Monaco, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Sweden and Japan. The President of the European Commission will also be present Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the European Parliament Robert Metsol.
Some will also be present at the coronation of King Charles III VIP. Among these, the inevitable Beckhams, comedian Rowan Atkinson and Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes. Finally, 850 citizens who have spent themselves at the service of the community have also been invited.
How much will the coronation of King Charles III cost?
Unlike weddings, which are paid for by the royal family, the coronation bill will be paid by the government (and therefore taxpayers). This has raised quite a few controversies especially in a time of economic crisis and rising cost of living.
No official figures have been released yet, but Buckingham Palace has admitted that the figure has exceeded 250, which is almost 300 million euro. Taking Queen Elizabeth II's £1,5m coronation as a benchmark (now around £50m), the estimates for King Charles's are double due to safety, "which weren't a such a big problem,” a source told The Sun. It is an incredible figure but it will be compensated by substantial revenue. According to the CEO of Brand Finance in London, the coronation of King Charles will bring 665 million more to the British economy.
Who will perform at King Charles III's coronation concert?
In the afternoon, Windsor Castle will be the setting for the coronation concert, in which international artists such as have already been confirmed Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Freya Ridings, Take That e Andrea Bocelli who will duet with Sir Bryn Terfel.
Also notable are i waste for work commitments: such as that of Elton John, the Spice Girls, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles and Adele.
Monday May 8 will also be a holiday for Britons, who were asked to celebrate by donating to a local charity.
Coronation of King Charles III: where to see it on TV?
The coronation will be broadcast on television for UK and international audiences. In addition to the BBC in English, it will be possible to watch the ceremony on various Italian broadcasters: Rai, Mediaset (Canale 5), La7 with the special "marathon" by Enrico Mentana and on Sky.
