King Charles’ coronation ceremony will take place today, at Westminster Abbey in London. He and his wife Queen Consort Camilla will be crowned at the ceremony. Prior to the ceremony, King Charles, his elder son Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton welcomed the guests near Buckingham Palace. The ceremony has a guest list of 2,000 people worldwide like world leaders, royal people and celebrities.
The coronation of King Charles III is also a special event as he is the oldest king to ever sit on the British throne. Charles became a king after his mother, Queen Elizabeth III, who was the longest reigning British monarch, passed away in 2022. Another event that happened before Charles III became a king, was Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down as senior royals.
Let us take a look at what all the coronation day would include:
1. World leaders and other representatives worldwide will present gifts to King Charles III at the coronation ceremony. Australia has a unique gift to offer to the King, A parrot, to get the world’s attention towards conservation of the Western Ground Parrot.
This will be our gift on behalf of the Australian people to King Charles III to mark his Coronation.
This will provide national and international attention to the conservation of the Western Ground Parrot.
Known as Kyloring in Noongar, the parrot is critically-endangered. pic.twitter.com/LB4oD3PRmQ
— Patrick Gorman MP (@PatrickGormanMP) May 3, 2023
2. People representing various communities are invited to King Charles III’s coronation ceremony. The British Sikh peer, Lord Indarjit Singh, 90, will entrust a key item of the regalia to King Charles III. The British Sikh peer, while talking to the media, said, “It’s a great honour for myself, but much more for the wider Sikh community, in this country, in India and further afield wherever Sikhs are across the globe. It’s a recognition of the King’s view of inclusivity.”
3. Charles, known as the ‘green king’ has a passion for organic farming and has been vocal and even worked on environmental issues like climate change and biodiversity. Now, his coronation would be a live symbol of what he believes in, as schoolchildren in Britain would receive wildflower seeds to spread across green areas, royal costumes with recycled materials would be worn, and possibly royal women would wear floral headdresses rather than tiaras. The coronation will also witness bouquets of primroses and a set of wild grass that will be decorated in the chapter house at Westminster Abbey.
4. There might be an uninvited guest in the ceremony. The UK Met department has announced a forecast of a cloudy and wet coronation day, especially during the afternoon time when the formal ceremony will be held. Light rain and drizzle is expected on Saturday, but the weather department has also warned of possible heavy bursts a few times.
5. The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, will preside over the coronation service, and religious leaders and representatives of the Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, and Jewish communities will also be present. This time the ceremony will not be held with only the Christian community traditionally.
6. Indians from different backgrounds will also attend King Charles III’s coronation ceremony, who would be the 40th monarch of Britain. India’s Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is officially representing India, will attend the event with his wife Sudesh Dhankhar. Actor Sonam Kapoor will present a spoken word piece at the coronation to introduce the Commonwealth virtual choir. Two dabbawalas from Mumbai and The Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts’ Building Craft Programme alumnus and 37-year-old architect from Pune, Sourabh Phadke, have also been invited to the occasion along with others.
