King Charles III and his wife Camilla will be crowned as queen on May 6 in a ceremony that will last about an hour. The ceremony will take place at Westminster Abbey and will be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The couple will travel from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, drawn by six Windsor Grey horses. The coronation will consist of several stages including the Recognition, The Oath, The Anointing, The Investiture, The Enthronement and The Homage.
After the coronation, the king and queen will return to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach in a larger ceremonial “Coronation Procession”, joined by other members of the royal family and some 4,000 British and Commonwealth troops in full regalia. On Sunday May 7, neighbourhood street parties — “The Big Coronation Lunch” — will be held across the UK. In the evening, Windsor Castle hosts some 10,000 people at a Coronation Concert, featuring artists including Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Take That and Andrea Bocelli. Monday May 8 has been declared a public holiday.
Charles’s two sons from his first marriage to Princess Diana — heir apparent Prince William and Prince Harry — will both be there. Harry, attending without his wife, Meghan, or their two children, and Charles’s brother Prince Andrew, are not expected to have a formal role to play. But William’s nine-year-old son Prince George, second in line to the throne, is one of the king’s four pages. Three of Camilla’s grandchildren — Gus, Louis and Freddy — and her great-nephew Arthur are among her pages.
The coronation of King Charles III is a momentous occasion that has largely remained unchanged for more than 1,000 years. Britons are encouraged to celebrate the event with neighborhood street parties and voluntary work on May 7 and a public holiday on May 8.
