Eight months after the death of Elizabeth II, King Charles III. crowned in a Christian ceremony full of pomp and solemnity at Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday.
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As a culmination of this consecration, which was prepared without much popular enthusiasm and marked by the arrest of anti-monarchy protesters, the Archbishop of Canterbury bestowed on the 74-year-old sovereign the crown of Saint Edward of solid gold and set with rubies.
Dressed in a simple white linen shirt, the king had just received the anointing on his knees, protected by embroidered umbrellas, while Handel’s famous Zadok the Priest rang out.
He reappeared in the eyes of audiences and hundreds of millions of expected television viewers to don the “super tunic,” a silk cloak draped in fine pieces of gold, then the imperial mantle clad in gold cloth.
With the royal stole over his shoulders, the white leather coronation glove slipped over one hand, and a scepter in each hand, the king received the crown weighing more than two kilos, which had been used for all coronations since 1661.
“God save the king!” exclaimed Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the first dignitary of the Anglican religion.
Trumpets sounded and cannon shots were heard across Britain or fired from Royal Navy boats at sea.
His heir William, kneeling, then swore allegiance to his father.
Camilla, 75, Charles’ second wife, was later blessed and crowned.
“Not My King”
Charles III became King of the United Kingdom and 14 Commonwealth countries, from Canada to Australia to Jamaica, in September after the death of his mother Elizabeth II at the age of 96.
Its coronation, unique in Europe, is the religious endorsement of this, and the UK had not seen one since 1953.
If modernized with shorter durations, singing representatives of the major religions and gospel alongside the classics, this millennia-old ritual has given the British monarchy an opportunity to display all the pomp of which it is a secret.
The King left Buckingham Palace in a carriage of six and rode through central London in the rain in front of thousands of staunch royals and some ‘Not My King’ signs unimaginable under his mother.
He passed through the doors of the Abbey dressed in his grandfather George VI’s robes of state, followed by four pages including his grandson George, followed by the Queen in an ivory robe embroidered with flowers.
Prince William and his wife Kate joined the other members of the royal family, including Prince Harry, who was relegated to third place and stripped of any official role on this historic day, a consequence of his departure for California in 2020 followed by more violent ones Criticism of the Palace.
The king was traditionally greeted by a child from the royal chapel.
The Archbishop of Canterbury then proceeded with the “recognition” aimed at confirming the king as the true ruler of the United Kingdom and 14 other states.
“God save King Charles,” he began, recorded by the assistant in the choir.
The king then took the oath on the Bible before the ceremony in front of the 2,300 guests, foreign dignitaries such as French President Emmanuel Macron or the wife of American President Jill Biden, celebrities such as actress Judi Dench, representative of the nobility, political leader and representatives of civil society.
“Be part of the future”
In a UK in the midst of a livelihood crisis, the event, with its golden sceptres, magnificent carriages and crowns set with some of the world’s largest diamonds, was prepared without much enthusiasm.
Another fly in the ointment: Police arrested more than 20 demonstrators, including six anti-monarchists and environmental activists, planning to protest on the King’s Road in one of their largest security operations, with more than 11,000 officers mobilized ahead of the coronation.
“That’s what you expect in Moscow, not in London,” protested Human Rights Watch.
If the anti-monarchists remain very much in the minority, their share in the population, especially among the young, increases. Her presence was unimaginable under Elizabeth II, a sign of the challenges facing Charles III, an already aged sovereign who was much less popular than his mother or heir William, aged 40.
A large, merry crowd dressed in the colors of the United Kingdom had traveled from across the country and abroad to attend this historic event and watch the royal couple and the procession pass by.
Being here means “being part of the future. It’s a crowning glory, it’s an important thing,” enthuses Dave Giddings, 41, who came to the Mall from Scotland with his wife and son to get as close to the event as possible despite the rain.
After the coronation, neighborhood meals and a concert are planned in Windsor, notably on the Sunday before a bank holiday Monday.