Charles III: will his coronation be as lavish as that of Elizabeth II?

It has been nearly a month since former sovereign Elizabeth II disappeared from her Balmoral Castle at the age of 96. His son, Prince Charles, who has become Charles III since his ascension to the throne, should be crowned within several months. While the media Bloomberg had claimed that the coronation would take place on June 3, 2023, it would ultimately be nothing. According to a Buckingham Palace spokesperson interviewed by The Mirror, this information is “pure speculation”.

A date that would have been heavy with meaning since it would come 70 years after the coronation of Elizabeth II which took place on June 2, 1953. “Queen Elizabeth II had waited a year to organize her coronation, a large-scale event which for the first time was broadcast on television”, reminds us Nicolas Fontaine, specialist in the monarchy and author of the site Histoiresroyales.fr. If the date of the coronation is still uncertain, it could also be less sumptuous. “It is said that the ceremony will be less lavish than the one organized for his mother 70 years ago. This goes in the direction of what Charles wants to give to his reign. There are however rituals which cannot be forgotten”, has he added.

The coronation of King Charles III will take place at Westminster Abbey, a place emblematic of British royalty. A ceremony led by the Archbishop of Canterbury. “The Archbishop, now Justin Welby, is the primate of all England, as successor to St Augustine of Canterbury, who was the first holder of this late 6th century see. The coronation ceremony is both ceremonial and religious”, explains Nicolas Fontaine.

During her sacrament, Elizabeth II was sworn in and then received an anointing. A religious protocol which Charles III will be required to follow scrupulously.’ King Charles III, as British sovereign, is now supreme governor of the Church of England. The king will be anointed with Holy Chrism, oil sacred”, continues the specialist in the monarchy.