Buckingham Palace has announced three days of celebrations to mark the coronation of King Charles III in Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6, when he will attempt to showcase a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multicultural UK plc “as it is today”.
While retaining most of the pageantry and Christian service of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation from 70 years ago in 1953, Charles, who at 74 is coming late to the throne, will try to signal he wants to be the defender of all faiths rather than simply “Defender of the faith”.
It will be a delicate balancing act for the new King who has often been given a rough time by the tabloids and will not want to upset the more traditional sections of British society.
After the coronation, there will be a balcony appearance at Buckingham Palace by selected “working” members of the royal family.
On May 7, there will be a light show and concert at Windsor castle, with amateur choir members picked from the NHS, refugees, LGBTQ+ as well as singing and deaf-signing groups to make the event as inclusive as possible. All 56 Commonwealth members will be included in a virtual choir.
The people of Britain will be encouraged to hold “Coronation Big Lunch street parties” across the United Kingdom. May 8 will be a Bank holiday.
The government will pay for the coronation.
At a personal level, the coronation will also give Charles a chance to distract attention away from the differences that have arisen with his younger son, Harry, who has quit the “Firm” to set up a rival establishment with his American wife, Meghan, in California.
It is not yet clear whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as Harry and Meghan are styled, will be invited to the coronation or will attend if they are.
The religious service, to be about two hours compared with three for Queen Elizabeth II, will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
Charles will wear St Edward’s Crown, which was removed from display in the Tower of London for adjustment to fit the new King. Made for Charles II in 1661, it is solid gold, 30 centimetres tall, weighs 2.23 kilograms and is decorated with 444 precious and semi-precious stones.
