Charles III will be officially crowned in London this Saturday (6), in a ceremony rich in tradition, but which the British king wants to be simpler and more modern than that of Elizabeth II 70 years ago. And that arouses much less interest.
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His coronation, on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in front of 2.000 guests, including heads of state, crowned heads and members of civil society, will come eight months after he assumed the throne on the death of his mother, who reigned for seven decades .
The coronation of the very young Elizabeth II in 1953 had 8.000 guests, an XNUMXth century carriage and lasted three hours.
That of Charles III, 74 years old and who replaced his mother a long time ago, will be limited to just over an hour and will have modern elements, such as an air-conditioned carriage and vegan oil.
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But if the coronation of Elizabeth II was watched on the BBC by 27 million of the then 36 million Britons, now 64% say they are not interested, according to a YouGov survey.
In a United Kingdom in the midst of a crisis, with inflation not below 10%, another survey showed that for 51% of British people, the ceremony should not be paid for with public money.
There will be no “extravagance or excess”, promeyours is cabinet minister Oliver Dowden. But “it’s a wonderful time in our history and people wouldn’t want to see us cutting corners,” he added.
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Charles III, whose role is merely ceremonial and has no political power, comes to the throne in a United Kingdom with multiple challenges. Among them, separatist aspirations in two of its nations – Scotland and Northern Ireland – and the review of the colonial and slave past, which led the new king to support an investigation into the monarchy's role in the slave trade.
In this context, the anti-monarchist group Republic plans a protest in central London on coronation day.
“The coronation is a celebration of hereditary power and privilege, it has no place in modern society,” said its president, Graham Smith.
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Harry without Meghan
But what seems to interest public opinion most is the presence of Prince Harry among the guests.
After launching harsh criticism of the monarchy in a Netflix documentary and an explosive memoir, Charles III's youngest son, 38, will attend the ceremony alone.
His wife Meghan, who even accused an unidentified member of the royal family of racism, will stay with their children in California, where the couple have lived since leaving the monarchy in 2020.
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The coronation itself will begin in the morning with a carriage procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. There, Charles III will take the oath before being anointed by Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on his hands, head and chest.
You will then receive the royal attributes: Edward's mantle, orb, scepter and crown, from the 17th century, adapted for the occasion.
Camilla, 75, who he married for the second time in 2005, will be crowned with the crown of Queen Mary, grandmother of Elizabeth II.
A new procession, accompanied by 4.000 soldiers in full dress uniform, will take them back to the palace, from where they will greet the crowd and watch an aerial parade.
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