If you think it’ll be any day now, think again. Here’s everything you need to know about King Charles’ coronation.
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Following Queen Elizabeth’s death, aged 96, her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, automatically became King.
Soon after news of Her Majesty’s passing hit headlines, it was revealed that King Charles had chosen the title King Charles III on ascending the throne. However, Charles’ official coronation will likely occur in several month’s time after his accession, following a 17-day period of mourning for the Queen.
King Charles and his wife, Camilla, Queen Consort are expected to return to London on Friday, September 9 after paying their respects with loved ones to the Queen on Thursday evening at Balmoral, where the Queen passed away.
In the evening, the new monarch will then address the nation on television, pay his respects to his mother and pledge to serve the Crown and serve as head of state.
But what do we know about the King’s coronation and it’s date and time? Here are all the details we have so far:
When will King Charles’ coronation take place?
Contrary to what you might think, King Charles’ coronation might not take place for several months. For example, after Queen Elizabeth’s accession on February 6, 1952, her coronation didn’t take place for another year, on June 2, 1953.
According to the British royal family’s website, the ceremony is ‘an occasion for pageantry and celebration, but it is also a solemn religious ceremony, has remained essentially the same over a thousand years.
‘For the last 900 years, the ceremony has taken place at Westminster Abbey, London. The service is conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose task this has almost always been since the Norman Conquest in 1066.’
A formal proclamation regarding the coronation will be made soon at an accession council at St James’s Palace during the Queen’s mourning period. The Guardian reports that members of the privy council, such as members of the House of Lords, the lord mayor etc, who advise the monarch on matters of state, will be summoned to the meeting.
Of course, this won’t be Prince Charles’ first coronation. In 1953, aged just four years old, Charles sat in the royal box at Westminster Abbey to watch his mother’s coronation. He was flanked at the time by the Queen mother and his aunt, Princess Margaret.
It’s expected that the King’s children, Prince William and Prince Harry, will attend the coronation. It’s unknown whether their respective partners, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, as well as their children (Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, and Archie and Lili) will be present.
Members of the Houses of Parliament, the Church of England, as well as world leaders and members of the Commonwealth will attend.
It’s important to note that the British government pays for the coronation, not the Crown, which will also see Camilla, Queen consort, be crowned.
What will happen after the proclamation of the new monarch?
During the mourning period Charles is expected to read a declaration and then take an oath to preserve the Church of Scotland. He will also swear an oath relating to the Church of England.
The Guardian notes that an accession carriage procession will be formed at St James’s Palace with a captain’s escort of household cavalry. ‘It will drive through the capital’s streets, which will be lined with troops, to the three other sites for royal proclamations: the statue of Charles I on the site of the original Charing Cross, once regarded as the centre of London, Chancery Lane and the Royal Exchange,’ it states.
