The enthronement ceremony of the new king of England Charles III expected to be the most popular event internationally. Formally taking the reigns as the first-born heir after the death of the country's much-loved and longest-reigning Queen Elizabeth, his official enthronement ceremony is expected on Saturday 6 May 2024 and three days of honors will follow to celebrate specific event. It's worth noting that Charles is the 41st monarch in line – and the oldest to be crowned, to date.
A different ceremony
It is worth noting that this is the first time we will see a different ceremony. It is known that from a young age the then Prince of Wales had declared his views on faith and secularism.
Despite the fact that the holder of the crown of England also honorably receives the title of head of the Church of England, he advocates that it is important to believe in something higher and that he considers himself a defender of faith in general and not of a specific religion.
For this reason he asked for a shorter and simpler religious ceremony that although respects the ritual and sanctity of Westminster Abbey but has adapted it to his own tastes, having personally chosen the 12 pieces that will be heard during the ceremony. He chose to retain parts of the ceremonies introduced in Queen Elizabeth's service, such as the anointing with consecrated oil, the handing over of the orb, and the enthronement itself.
The oil with which the king and royal consort will be anointed, which was consecrated at the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in March, will be contained in a golden container in the shape of an eagle.
The silver-gilt coronation spoon is the earliest object used in the coronation ceremony, having been first recorded in 1349 among the emblems of St. Edward in Westminster Abbey, and is the only piece of royal goldsmiths' work to survive from the twelfth century.
The Monarch's orb was made of gold in the 17th century and symbolizes Christendom. It is divided into three sections with bands of jewels, for each of the three continents known in the medieval period.
The Sword of Worldly Justice, depicting the Monarch's role as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, the Sword of Spiritual Justice, which signifying the Monarch as Defender of the Faith, and the Sword of Mercy or Curtana, which has a blunt edge, symbolizing the mercy of the Sovereign. Swords were first used at the coronation of King Charles I' in 1626.
The Sovereign's Ring, a symbol of royal dignity, created for the coronation of King William D' in 1831 and all the rulers since King Edward VII' and then have used it in their enthronement ceremonies. Consists of sapphire with ruby cross in diamonds.
Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber will write the Coronation Hymn, which according to the composer will 'reflect the joyous occasion'. For the first time, the new monarch has been asked to play Greek Orthodox music at the service in honor of his late father, the Duke of Edinburgh, to be performed by the Byzantine Chant Ensemble.
The Crown >
The king's coronation will be limited to 2,000 to account for health and safety restrictions. He is 1/4 of the crowd that attended his mother's respective ceremony. “The St. Edward's Crown he is about to wear was made by the royal goldsmith, Robert Viner, in 1661,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. Although not an exact copy of the medieval design, it follows the original in having four pattee crosses and four fleurs-de-lis, and two arches. It consists of a solid gold bezel set with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnets, topazes and tourmalines. The crown weighs almost 5 kg and has a solid gold frame and 444 stones.
The Imperial State Crown, or State Crown, is the crown that the monarch exchanges with the Crown of St. Edward at the end of the Coronation Service. The Imperial State Crown is also used on ceremonial occasions such as the State Opening of Parliament, with the late Queen joking that it was her "party hat" her.
Charles will be crowned King with the Crown of St. Edward and leave the Abbey wearing the Imperial State Crown.
The priceless set of Coronation Emblems from the Crown Jewels to be used during the religious service at the Abbey has also been confirmed.
It will include the Sovereign's Orb, the Golden Spurs, bracelets known as Armills, two clubs, five symbolic swords, the Ruler's Ring, the Monarch's Scepter with Cross and the Monarch's Scepter with the Dove.
Camilla will be crowned with Queen Mary's tiara which has been modified to include some of the late Queen's jewels, including the Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds which were part of her personal jewelery collection for many years.
The carriage
The royal couple will be transported by the carriage used in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. The carriage is covered in more than 400 sheets of gold and has pieces of wood on it from the ship 'Mary Rose', the flagship of King Henry VIII's fleet that sank in 1545.
They will return with his 260-year-old carriage Gold State, used at every coronation. It is 7 meters long, 3.6 meters high and weighs 4 tons, hence it moves at a very slow pace.
*With information from APE-MPE, Stella Alevizopoulou. The report was written with the help of the communication specialist and copywriter of the British palace, Andrianis Manetta.
Source: ‘Ethnos
