Buckingham Palace reveals details of 3-day celebration to mark King Charles III's coronation
CTV
Buckingham Palace on Saturday revealed details of King Charles III's coronation, set to be less extravagant than his mother's ceremony 70 years ago, in a reflection of the cost-of-living crisis many Britons are enduring.
Buckingham Palace on Saturday revealed details of King Charles III's coronation, set to be less extravagant than his mother's ceremony 70 years ago, in a reflection of the cost-of-living crisis many Britons are enduring.
Three days of celebrations will take place, with the coronation on Saturday May 6, a "Coronation Big Lunch" and "Coronation Concert" the following day, and an extra bank holiday on Monday. The public will be invited on the last day to join "The Big Help Out" by volunteering in their communities.
The coronation itself will be "a solemn religious service, as well as an occasion for celebration and pageantry," conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the palace said.
It will, the palace reiterated, "reflect the Monarch's role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry."
That line from the palace has been interpreted by experts as a hint that Charles' coronation will be different and more subdued from the one his late mother experienced seven decades ago, with a shorter ceremony and amendments to some of the feudal elements of the ritual. Queen Elizabeth's coronation was the first live televised royal event and lasted three hours.
Charles and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, will arrive at Westminster Abbey in procession from Buckingham Palace, known as "The King's Procession," and return later in a larger ceremonial procession, known as "The Coronation Procession," accompanied by other members of the royal family.
The King and Queen Consort, alongside members of the royal family, will then appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to conclude the day's events.
