View gallery
Image Credit: Action Press/Shutterstock
King Charles III is the King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
He became the oldest person to accede to the British throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in Sept. 2022.
He will have his official coronation on May 6, 2023.
King Charles III, 74, became the king of the U.K. and the 14 other Commonwealth realms right after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died on Sept. 8, 2022, but the traditional coronation, where he will officially be crowned, will take place on May 6, 2023. His wife, Camilla, 75, will also be crowned as Queen Consort at the ceremony. King Charles is the oldest person to accede to the British throne, so the upcoming event is a historical one.
The King stepped into his new royal title the same moment the Queen passed away at the age of 96. Prior to her death, he was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales, stepping away to become King at the age of 73. Shortly after the loss of his mother and the gain of the highest royal title, King Charles released a statement to the public.
Articles Trending Now
Trending Now
“The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of great sadness for me and all members of my family,” he said in the statement. “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world. During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the Queen was so widely held.”
As King Charles gets set to be crowned at his coronation, there are many questions the public has about the event, such as, how will his coronation differ from his mother’s? Who is on the guest list? And, what kind of crown will he wear?
Find out the answers to those questions and more about the coronation below.
More AboutKing Charles
Where and When Will King Charles’ Coronation Take Place?
King Charles became King when his mother Queen Elizabeth II died in Sept. 2022. (Action Press/Shutterstock)
King Charles’ coronation will take place at Westminster Abbey in London, England on May 6, 2023. The news was announced in Oct. 2022 by Buckingham Palace. The service will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury and is reportedly expected to last just over an hour. Buckingham Palace announced that, “The Coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry,” on the royal family’s website.
How Will King Charles’ Coronation Compare to Queen Elizabeth’s in 1953?
King Charles with his mother Queen Elizabeth II, in an older photo. (Andrew Milligan/WPA Pool/Shutterstock)
King Charles’ coronation is expected to be very different from Queen Elizabeth’s, which took place in 1953. 2.000 guests are reportedly set to attend, which is quite a contrast to the 8,251 people who attended the Queen’s. The hour-long ceremony is also much shorter than the Queen’s three-hour ceremony.
Related Link
Related:
Tracy Dyson: 5 Things About The NASA Astronaut Who Sang The National Anthem At NCAA Championship
In addition to the number of guests and the length of the ceremony, King Charles’ plans to bring more modern elements into the ceremony set him apart from his late mother. “It’s going to be more inclusive. I think with many more religions [represented],” Lady Anne Glenconner, 90, who served as a maid of honor at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, said about the King’s coronation, according to People.
What Crowns Will King Charles and Queen Camilla use at the Coronation?
The King and Queen will wear existing crowns. (Jordan Pettitt/WPA Pool/Shutterstock)
King Charles will wear the St. Edward Crown at the coronation. The important crown was at the Tower of London, where it was stored with other Crown Jewels. It left in Dec. 2022 to get prepped for the ceremony. The St. Edward Crown was first created for Charles II in 1661 and was a replacement for the previous crown that had been melted down in 1649, according to Buckingham Palace. The Palace also revealed that the original was believed to date back to the 11th-century royal saint, Edward the Confessor, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England.
Camilla’s crown will be the Queen Mary’s Crown. It has an incredible 2,200 diamonds and was first worn by Charles’ great-grandmother Mary when she was crowned as Queen Consort at the coronation for her husband, King George V, in 1911. It will be the first time in history that a Queen Consort will wear an existing crown instead of something new. The decision was made “in the interests of sustainability and efficiency,” Buckingham Palace said.
The Palace also revealed that the headpiece is being reset with the Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds from Queen Elizabeth’s jewelry collection. Four of the crown’s eight detachable arches are also being removed to create “a different impression to when the Crown was worn by Queen Mary at the 1911 Coronation,” the palace said.
Will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Attend King Charles’ Coronation?
As of Apr. 2023, it’s unclear if Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle will attend his father’s coronation. When recently asked if he would accept an invitation, Harry said the “ball” was in the royal family’s “court” and didn’t give a definitive answer. “There’s a lot that can happen between now and then,” he told ITV News in Jan. 2023. “But, the door is always open. The ball is in their court. There’s a lot to be discussed and I really hope that they’re willing to sit down and talk about it.”
In March 2023, it was reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were invited to the coronation via email, but their spokesperson said they hadn’t yet made a decision about their attendance. “An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time,” the statement said.
In addition to the possible attendance of Harry and Meghan, King Charles’ other son, Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, are expected to be at the coronation. Their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, are also reportedly attending. Other royals on the guest list include Prince Albert of Monaco and his wife, Princess Charlene, and possibly Queen Camilla’s five grandchildren from her first marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles. King Charles’ brother Prince Andrew, who made headlines for stepping back from royal duties over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is also believed to have been invited.
Who Will Be Performing At King Charles’ Coronation?
Take That members Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald are set to headline the coronation concert, The Sun reported. The band’s other member, Robbie Williams, reportedly turned down the offer. The coronation will also reportedly feature composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, singer Lionel Richie, singer Olly Murs, and choirs from the U.K., including refugee choirs, NHS choirs, LGBTQ+ singing groups and deaf singing choirs.
Other artists who were reportedly asked to perform but declined include Adele, Ed Sheeran, Elton John, Kylie Minogue, and Harry Styles. Both Ed and Harry apparently turned down the offers due to scheduling conflicts, but it’s unclear why the rest of the artists declined.
Will King Charles and Queen Camilla Live in Buckingham Palace After the Coronation?
King Charles and Queen Camilla will reportedly move out of Clarence House, where they are now, and into Buckingham Palace once renovations on the royal residence are completed in 2027.
Will King Charles’ Coronation Be Livestreamed?
The entire ceremony will be showcased live on the BBC in England. Sky News is also expected to air the live coronation on their YouTube page, and The Telegraph reports that news coverage of the coronation will be covered on ITV’s “social media platforms.”
Click to Subscribe to Get Our Free HollywoodLife Daily Newsletter to get the hottest celeb news.
