History of the coronation
For the past thousand years, the kings and queens of the United Kingdom have been crowned at Westminster Abbey in London. There have been 38 kings crowned at this abbey.
However, there have been two kings who did not live to be crowned: Edward V, one of two young princes believed to have been murdered in the Tower of London in the 15th century, and Edward VIII, who abdicated to marry an American.
The golden carriage will be used in the coronation ceremony of King Charles. Photo: Reuters
Why is there a coronation?
The coronation is really just a formality and no other monarchy in the world holds a similar event. But royal historian Alice Hunt says it persists as a way to publicly legitimise the monarch.
“It was a kind of transformative moment with religious significance,” she said. “Although the monarch has been on the throne since the death of his predecessor, the coronation ceremony has been maintained since the 14th century.”
Time of organization
The coronation will begin at 10:00 GMT Saturday (17:00 Saturday Vietnam time) after a procession from Buckingham Palace. The ceremony is expected to last about two hours.
A much larger procession will leave Westminster Abbey, including armed forces from Britain and across the Commonwealth. The King and Queen will travel in the golden carriage that has been used since 1760.
What happens at the coronation?
King Charles III will take an oath to uphold the Laws and the Church of England. Sitting on the historic Coronation Chair, known as St Edward's Chair and studded with the Stone of Destiny, he will be anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
This was the highlight of the ceremony and signaled God's favor to the king.
King Charles will also be presented with many ornate golden orbs, scepters, swords and rings, all of which form part of the Crown Jewels and symbolise the power, authority and duties of the Monarch as well as the power of God.
The Archbishop will then place the St Edward's Crown, which has been used in coronations for the past 350 years, on his head. King Charles will leave Westminster Abbey with another crown, the Royal State Crown.
The public will be invited to swear allegiance to the King and his heirs and successors.
King Charles will wear a crimson and purple silk and velvet robe at his coronation, the same robe worn by his grandfather King George VI at his own coronation in 1937.
Queen Camilla
King Charles's second wife, Camilla, whom he married in 2005, will also be crowned separately at the ceremony, and will also be anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. She will be crowned with Queen Mary's tiara, which was commissioned for her coronation in 1911.
The guests
There will be 2,200 guests inside Westminster Abbey, far fewer than the 8,000 who attended Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953.
Among them will be members of the British Royal Family, including Prince Harry but not his wife Meghan.
Also in attendance were royal families, officials and other heads of state, including US First Lady Jill Biden and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.
Added to this will be friends of King Charles, charities and celebrities like Lionel Richie.
Quoc Thien (according to Reuters)
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