© Reuters. King Charles III, wearing St Edward’s Crown, surrounded by religious leaders during his coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey, London. PHOTO DATE: Saturday, May 6, 2023. Victoria Jones/Pool via REUTERS
(Corrects spelling of Westminster Abbey in dateline)
Written by Rachel Armstrong
WESTMINTER ABBEY, LONDON (Reuters) – The explosive crescendo of “Zaddock the Priest,” Handel’s soaring hymn he composed nearly 300 years ago for the coronation of King George III, marks the most solemn moment of Charles’s coronation on Saturday.
Inside Westminster Abbey, where kings and queens have been crowned since 1066, some 2,200 people were there to witness the removal of Charles’ robe, before it was covered, anointed with holy oil, and reappeared as the choir sang “May the King live forever.”
Minutes later, after Charles’ coronation and enthronement, the congregation loudly repeated the same words at the end of the pledge of allegiance to the new king, with echoes reverberating around the medieval building before beginning a rousing brass fanfare.
Until the coronation of Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, only those in the abbey watched the coronation of kings and queens.
Elizabeth’s coronation was the first to be televised, and 70 years later, video technology means that people watching on TV and online around the world have better close-ups than almost anyone out there.
Yet the elements of the ceremony, which was a solemn and largely ritual service with mere dashes of novelty, remained distinctly intimate for those inside the abbey.
The music, a mixture of centuries-old anthems written for Charles’ ancestors and pieces commissioned for the occasion, ranged from uninhibited pomp to quieter choral works that echoed around the abbey’s vaulted ceilings.
Charles himself appeared meek at times, as when he knelt before the altar with four clergy around him. William, the king’s son, accepted his father after swearing allegiance to him.
The king, who is 74, also at times looked a little tired and under stress.
There was, however, a fleeting smile between Charles and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as the cleric momentarily struggled to ensure St Edward’s 360-year-old crown was on the king’s head.
His 9-year-old grandson, Prince George, caused a chuckle when he appeared on screens making funny faces shortly after his grandfather’s coronation.
State and Church
Prior to Charles’ arrival, representatives of nine non-Christian religious groups had transacted through the abbey, in keeping with the King’s commitment to protecting religious freedom.
But the ceremony itself was very Christian, and centered around Charles’ oath to serve God as well as the people of Britain and the 14 Commonwealth countries where he is head of state.
He was flanked at every moment by senior members of the clergy, while every phase of the service showed how close and supported the Church of England was to the British Royal Church.
Addressing Charles and the new Queen Camilla, Welby said in his sermon, “The weight of the task entrusted to you today, Your Majesties, can only be borne by the Spirit of God.”
Some historians may ask whether coronations in the future can retain the same deeply Christian structure as the Church’s presence in Britain continues to decline.
But the sense of historic occasion and ritual that – for the last coronation was 70 years ago – that few people in Britain had ever witnessed would likely captivate almost everyone who witnessed it.
(This story has been rewritten to correct Westminster Abbey dateline spelling)