Charles III was on Saturday crowned monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth nations after a lifetime as heir apparent to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Camilla, his wife, was crowned immediately after.
Cries of “God Save the King” rang out from the 2,300-strong congregation at Westminster Abbey and trumpet fanfares sounded at the climax of the solemn religious confirmation of his accession.
Outside, ceremonial gun salutes blasted out across land and sea while bells pealed in celebration at churches across the country.
While many of the intricate rituals and ceremony to recognise Charles as his people’s “undoubted king” remained, the king sought to bring other aspects of the service up to date.
Women bishops participated for the first time, as did leaders of Britain’s non-Christian faiths while its Celtic languages — Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic — featured prominently.
A gospel choir sang for the first time at a coronation while a Greek choir intoned a psalm in tribute to Charles’s late father, Prince Philip, who was born on the island of Corfu.
As king, Charles is supreme governor of the Church of England and has described himself as a “committed Anglican Christian”. But he heads a more religiously and ethnically diverse country than the one his mother inherited in the shadow of World War II.
As such, he sought to make the congregation more reflective of British society, inviting ordinary members of the public to sit alongside heads of state and global royalty.
In another change, the coronation themes mirrored his lifelong interest in biodiversity and sustainability. Ceremonial vestments from previous coronations were reused, and the anointing oil used was vegan.
Rishi Sunak — Britain’s first prime minister of colour, who gave a reading from the Bible at the service — has described the coronation as “a proud expression of our history, culture and traditions”.
Earlier, the police arrested dozens of protesters of the anti-monarchy group Republic as they prepared to protest along the route of a procession for the coronation.
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