Rehearsals follow in London before the king’s coronation. Three days of festivities are planned from May 6 to celebrate this historic event with highlights at Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. Here is the program for this royal weekend.
[Mis à jour le 02 mai 2023 à 14h07] Charles III will be crowned, along with his queen consort Camilla, on Saturday May 6, 2023 at Westminster Abbey. The ceremony should begin around 11 a.m. (12 p.m. in France), the usual time for major ceremonies of the British monarchy.
To increase the pressure, the royal palace has unveiled new information on this weekend in dribs and drabs. We now know what outfits will be worn by the king and queen. The two will reuse clothes worn by Elizabeth II during her coronation in 1953.
Hundreds of millions of viewers could well be behind their screens to follow this day with the traditional parade of the royal couple to Buckingham Palace where the relatives of the king will be able to greet the crowd on the balcony of the famous building. The tabloids predict the identity of the lucky ones to join the king in this mythical moment after the long soap opera devoted to Harry’s presence. The prince will be present, unlike his wife Meghan who will stay in the United States with her two children.
Three days to pay homage to King Charles III
But the coronation will not stop at this day of May 6. On Sunday, a concert will be given at Windsor Castle with the presence of Katy Perry, Lionel Ritchie and Andrea Bocceli as headliners. The day will also be devoted to the initiative “The Big Lunch” which encourages the British to gather around the “coronation quiche”. The main emblematic places of the country will be illuminated in the evening.
Finally, Monday will be devoted to the more than 400 associations sponsored by Charles III. The British monarchy created this day as “The Big Help out” to highlight them. An application has been launched to find out about the many local activities and events organized during this day.
But all these celebrations have a cost and the palace had to revise its initial budget downwards because of very high inflation in the United Kingdom. Result: 6,000 fewer guests compared to his mother’s coronation, a considerably reduced ceremony time, a shortened royal carriage parade, etc. The crown seeks to show its sobriety, but the expenditure of 100 million pounds is not to the liking of all of Her Majesty’s subjects.
All about the ceremony
What will the ceremony look like?
The purpose of the ceremony is to publicly formalize the transfer of royal powers to Charles III. This is not compulsory in the British monarchy: Edward VIII reigned without any coronation and Charles was automatically named Charles III on the death of his mother Elizabeth. The event will be more modest so as not to relive the endless three-hour procession of Elizabeth II and some 16,000 participants present on a seven-kilometre route. British media believe that the ceremony will be modest and economical due to the crisis. The king’s procession will thus be very short compared to that experienced by Elizabeth II. According to DailyMirror, “the king is aware of the difficult daily life of the English.” As a reminder, the 1953 ceremony had cost 1.57 million pounds at the time, or around 45 million euros today. That of 2023 should barely last an hour. In this sense, Charles III detaches himself from the codes, Elizabeth II having respected the code of the three ceremonial hours. The monarchy wishes to unveil a modern and lucid image on the situation of the country: “the coronation will also reflect the role of the monarch today and will look to the future although it is rooted in ancient traditions”.
According to a Yougov poll, more than one in two Britons believe the coronation should not be funded by taxes. Buckingham Palace has not released a coronation budget. The local media agree on several tens of millions of euros at a minimum. A sum that will not delight the detractors of the monarchy while Great Britain faces inflation of more than 10%. The survey also reveals that in Scotland, half the country should not watch the coronation in a country seeking independence.
Will Harry be present at his father’s coronation?
On the people side, the question around the presence of Prince Harry has long occupied the monopoly of the attention of the tabloids. He will be present at the coronation ceremony, but Prince Harry should be absent from the traditional photo on the Buckingham balcony. The final answer on the presence or not of the Harry-Meghan couple was given on April 12. Only Harry will make the trip to attend his father’s coronation. His wife Meghan and their two children will stay in the United States to celebrate the four years of Archie, born on the same date of the coronation. Harry should not drag on in the UK because his presence is indicated only for the ceremony in Westminster Abbey. His possible presence on the balcony of Buckingham Palace is therefore to be ruled out.
Royal family observers believe that Meghan’s absence is also due to a desire to preserve herself mentally and to cut ties with the royal family for good. As a reminder, the couple had accused the Windsors of making racist remarks about the potential skin color of their first child. In a recent autobiography, The Alternatepublished by Fayard, Harry revealed the underside of the royal family and in particular his strained relationship with his brother William.
Who are the artists performing at the concert?
The British stars did not rush to the gate to participate in this concert. THE DailyMail argued that Harry Styles, Elton John and the Spice Girls would have declined the invitation. Ed Sheeran explained to the HuffPost that he had not been invited. There BBCin charge of the broadcast, then revealed the list of artists present at the concert scheduled for Sunday May 7 at Windsor Castle in front of 20,000 people.
The headliners are the Americans Lionel Ritchie And Katy Perry accompanied by Italian Andrea Bocelli. His names are not due to chance because these three artists have links with Charles. Katy Perry is the Children’s Ambassador for the British Asian Trust, a group of British Asian business leaders set up by the new king. Lionel Ritchie was the first global ambassador for The Prince’s Trust charity also founded by Charles III. The production has nevertheless provided for a few local artists such as singer Freya Ridings, the boy band Take That (but without its ex-leader Robbie Williams), composer Alexis Ffrench and opera singer Sir Bryn Terfel. In comparison, for the jubilee of the 70 years of reign of Elizabeth II, 250,000 spectators were present to attend performances by Diana Ross, Queen or Rod Stewart.
Where to follow the coronation festivities of Charles III live?
The BBC will broadcast the festivities in mondovision. Most major TV channels will switch their usual schedule to cover the coronation and procession of King Charles III. A live stream will of course be available on Internet user so that you don’t miss anything of this historic event.
Who are the guests at the coronation?
2,000 people were invited to the ceremony. This is 6000 less compared to that of Elizabeth II where Westminster Abbey had to be modified in five months to accommodate 8251 people. The royal family will be almost complete. Other royal figures will move like Prince Albert of Monaco or Prince Fumihito for the Japanese imperial family. Many heads of state like Emmanuel Macron should be at the ceremony as well as major British personalities as well as certain members of the aristocracy. The latest confirmed guests are the Belgian and Dutch royal families, whose daughters, respectively Princess Elisabeth and Princess Catharina-Amalia, will be present ahead of the coronation on May 5.
A notable absentee is already to be noted: it is the President of the United States Joe Biden. The White House has not communicated a reason but insists on the presence of his wife Jill to represent the first world power. Queen Consort Camilla has invited the family from her first marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles. A gesture underlined by the followers of the monarchy as a desire to demonstrate the modernity of the royal family. Buckingham Palace still keeps the mystery on the composition of the people authorized to appear on the balcony of the famous palace.
The royal family unveiled the official invitation to the coronation of Charles III on April 5. Here is the official coronation schedule:
- The recognition of the king. The monarch must stand near the coronation pulpit, a seven-century-old piece of furniture. The Archbishop of Canterbury must then present Charles III and the crowd present shouts “God save the King” under the sound of trumpets.
- Charles III must then take the oath to uphold the law and the Church of England.
- The king’s anointing. Her ceremonial dress is removed. He sits in the coronation chair as a golden sheet is held over him to hide him from view. The archbishop applies to the hands, the chest and the head of the king a sacred oil whose recipe is partially secret. It would contain ambergris, orange blossoms, roses, jasmine and cinnamon. The royal palace indicates that the one created for Charles will not contain animal derivatives.
- Investiture: The sovereign is presented with objects including the Royal Orb, representing religious and moral authority; the Scepter, representing power; and the Sovereign’s Scepter, a golden rod surmounted by a white enameled dove, a symbol of justice and mercy. Finally, the archbishop places the crown of Saint Edward on the king’s head. A delicate moment for Charles III who will have to stay upright with more than two kilos of precious stones on his skull while reading a royal text.
- Investiture and homage: the King rises from the coronation pulpit and takes his place on the throne. Guests kneel before the monarch to pay their respects. The Queen consort will then be similarly anointed and crowned.
Pieces of the “True Cross” offered to Charles III by Pope Francis
The pope chose his gift for the coronation of Charles III. THE Times reports that these would be two small fragments of the cross on which Christ was crucified. They are 5 and 10 mm long respectively. The Vatican attests to their authenticity of being issued from the “True Cross”. Jesus was crucified outside the gates of Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. His relics were encrusted with a silver cross: the Cross of Wales. This item also includes recycled bullion from the British Royal Mint.
This personal gift from Pope Francis was blessed by the Archbishop of Wales, Archbishop Andrew John. This high religious dignitary rejoiced, with the Times, of the papal offering: “It is extremely important. It is a remarkable thing that the King was able to find the favor of the Vatican and thanks to this very good relationship, Pope Francis agreed to donate these small fragments of the Holy Cross.” The cross will be held up at the head of the procession leaving Westminster Abbey after the coronation of Charles III. This donation is a strong gesture as the Anglican Church has separated from the papacy since the excommunication of King Henry VIII in 1534.
Buckingham Palace hopes the coronation will be “a chance for people to come together”. The teams preparing the three days of festivities hope that the figures for the broadcast will not be ridiculous in the face of the stunning figures of 1953 and the coronation of Elizabeth II: 27 million Britons had followed it on television while the country had 36 million people at the time.