The coronation of King Charles III is set to take place today, on Saturday 6 May at Westminster Abbey, London.
Charles, 74, and his wife, Camilla, 75, will be officially crowned king and queen consort of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms.
King Charles III formerly the Duke of Cornwall, then the Prince of Wales acceded to the British throne eight months ago, on 8 September 2022, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
He had been first in the line of succession for 70 years 214 days, making him the longest heir-apparent ever. His record-breaking wait for the throne began when he was three years old, on 6 February 1952, the day his mother became queen.
The record was previously held by Charles’s great-great-grandfather Edward VII, who waited for 59 years 73 days to take the throne, eventually doing so on 22 January 1901 upon the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.
Charles’s coronation is set to be shorter than his mother’s, which took place in 1953. It has been modified from past coronations to better represent the variety of cultures and communities living in the UK today.
A statement from Buckingham Palace said that His Majesty’s coronation will “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.”
The service will begin in secret with the anointing ceremony, aka the Act of Consecration. This tradition was performed behind closed doors during Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, as will be the case for Charles.
The anointing ceremony is carried out by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who pours holy oil from the Ampulla (an eagle-shaped gold vessel) into the Coronation Spoon, then dips two fingers in and anoints the new monarch on the hands, breast and head; a tradition that dates back to the Old Testament.
Afterwards, Charles’s public crowning and enthronement take place, representing his assumption of the powers and responsibilities that come with being king