Carriages, Crown ewels… and an emoji: new details of the coronation of King Charles III are revealed.
After more than 74 years (he will be 75 on November 14) of preparing to become King of England, Charles III ascended to the throne on September 8, following the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, at the age of 96.
According to Norman Baker in a biography of the royal family, he was the Prince of Wales with the most years of service and the oldest person to accede to the British throne, despite advocating a few years ago that monarchs should abdicate at the age of 70.
On September 9, in his first speech as king, he dispelled any doubts and stated unequivocally his intention to remain in power. “For as long as God keeps me alive,” he says.
Charles III will be proclaimed king at Westminster Abbey in front of over 2,000 guests, including representatives of royal houses from around the world. The new monarchs will be crowned and anointed with the sacred oil before being paraded through the streets of London in a golden carriage and saluted from Buckingham Palace’s balcony by senior members of the royal family.
Will Queen Consort Camilla also be crowned?
That’s correct. The former Duchess of Cornwall will be crowned alongside Charles III, following Queen Elizabeth II’s “sincere wish” for Camilla Parker to assume the title of Queen Consort. She will be the first consort crowned since the Queen Mother in 1937. She will do so while wearing Queen Mary’s diamond crown, which is studded with over 2,000 diamonds.
The streets of London, full of flags
London is decked out in Union Jack flags to commemorate the golden coach tour that the new kings of the United Kingdom, Charles III, and Camilla, will take after being crowned.
The new coin of King Charles III
On the occasion of Charles III’s enthronement, a series of 50-pence coins bearing the image of the crowned king and his new title was issued.
Portrait of the New King Charles III
A portrait of King Charles III by Alastar Barford hangs in the window of Bollinger’s flagship store in London.
The new king’s cushion
Who wouldn’t want a sequined cushion with a Union Jack flag and the legend ‘God save the king’?
An emoji for the occasion
In an example of the coronation’s modernity, the palace also announced the release of a new emoji to commemorate the occasion, based on the historic St Edward’s Crown that will be placed on Charles’ head during the service.
It will be visible on Twitter beginning April 10 if any of the following hashtags are used: #Coronation #CoronationConcert #CoronationWeekend #CoronationBigLunch #TheBigHelpOut.
The anointing is the most sacred part of the coronation.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will anoint Charles III and Camilla. “From ancient kings to the present day, monarchs have been anointed with oil from this sacred place,” said Anglican Church spiritual leader Justin Welby.
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III and Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem Hosam Naoum consecrated the oil at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Christians believe Jesus was buried.
The King’s “Supertunic”
King Charles III will be invested with the Supertunic, a special golden silk robe worn by his mother Elizabeth II (1953), grandfather George VI (1937), and great-grandfather George V (1911), during the ceremony’s crowning moment, the Coronation.
