Coronation: King Charles and Queen Camilla crowned in historic ceremony - BBC

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By Sean Coughlan, royal correspondent and James Gregory

BBC News

King Charles and Queen Camilla have been crowned on a historic day of pageantry, capped by cheering from crowds in front of Buckingham Palace.

Thousands packed the Mall despite the rain, after a deeply religious Coronation service at Westminster Abbey and a huge procession through London.

The King and Queen waved from the Palace balcony as the RAF Red Arrows painted the sky red, white and blue.

But the BBC understands Prince Harry was not invited to join them.

The Duke of Sussex had been at the ceremony in the abbey earlier, sitting two rows back from his brother Prince William - the first time they had been seen together since Harry's sensational memoir, Spare, was released. He left for the US straight afterwards.

The King's day began shortly after 10:00 BST, with the procession to Westminster Abbey in the horse-drawn Diamond Jubilee State Coach, past cheering crowds and an honour guard of 1,000 members of the armed forces.

POOL

Faith leaders and commonwealth leaders began the processions, with the King and Queen following behind.

The two-hour ceremony - the first to crown a monarch in 70 years - was watched on TV around the world, as well as some 2,300 people inside the abbey.

After the crown was placed on Charles's head cries of "God Save the King" were heard inside and outside, and gun salutes were made across the UK.

Celebrity guests were among those inside Westminster Abbey - including actress Emma Thompson and US singer Katy Perry.

US First Lady Jill Biden and her granddaughter Finnegan arrived in a three-car motorcade, although President Biden did not travel to the UK. French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska were also in the abbey, as were Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and leaders of the Commonwealth countries.

In all, 90 heads of state attended, the Foreign Office said.

• Must see pictures from the King's Coronation
• Inside the abbey, watching history in the making
• How to watch the Coronation Concert

The Coronation's main theme was the importance of service.

"I come not to be served, but to serve," the King said in his first prayer after reaching the abbey.

Charles was proclaimed as the "undoubted King" in the first stage of the ceremony. The congregation was then asked to show their homage and service, shouting "God Save the King".

Yet among the music and oaths, there were moments of complete silence as each stage of the ancient ceremony finished.

Traditions rarely seen elsewhere in modern life were maintained - such as the inclusion of the orb and sceptre and the carrying of the gilded Sword of State.

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In one part of the service, the King was screened from public for the anointing - seen as the most sacred part of proceedings.

This was where the King was anointed with holy oils by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The need for privacy, the Palace said, was because it "has historically been regarded as a moment between the Sovereign and God".

While waiting for the anointed King to reappear, choristers sang Handel's Zadok the Priest - performed at every coronation since 1727.

PA Media

Prince William also made a pledge of loyalty to King Charles, and kissed him on the cheek, before members of the congregation were invited to offer their own support.

Returning to the Palace, it was a spectacle of pomp and pageantry as the newly crowned King and Queen travelled up The Mall in the Gold State Coach flanked by thousands of servicemen and women.

In total, 4,000 armed forces personnel and 19 military bands took part - making it the biggest state occasion since the coronation of the late Queen in 1953.

Despite the very English weather - constant rain - there was a celebratory atmosphere on The Mall, with periodic Mexican waves and police officers being cheered.

Among the thousands of spectators, many of whom camped overnight for the best viewing spot, was Alexandra Hornyak, 57, from Montreal, Canada.

"I've known for years that I would want to attend this day, and the day that it was announced, I was driving to the office, and my husband just called me and said 'May 6'," she told the BBC.

"I knew exactly what it was. And I jumped on the phone to get a hotel reservation and we went from there."

Hours later, the Prince and Princess of Wales tweeted a video of the family's day, writing: "What. A. Day. Thank you to everyone who made it happen."

Reuters

PA Media

• Penny Mordaunt's sword-wielding - and other top moments
• What Kate and Camilla wore to the coronation
• Royal Family tree: Charles III and the line of succession

While the vast majority of the assembled crowd came out to cheer the King, there was also a sizeable protest from Republic, the group campaigning to abolish the monarchy and replace it with an elected head of state, and others.

Around six protesters, who were unloading a van of placards, were arrested. In total, the Metropolitan Police said it arrested 52 people for affray, public order offences, breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance around the Coronation.

Acknowledging concerns about the arrests, Commander Karen Findlay defended Scotland Yard's actions, saying: "Our duty is to do so in a proportionate manner in line with relevant legislation."

Anti-monarchy groups had defended their right to protest, but the police warned that "tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low".

"The reports of people being arrested for peacefully protesting the coronation are incredibly alarming", said Human Rights Watch UK director Yasmine Ahmed.

The Metropolitan Police had 11,500 officers on duty in what it said would be its biggest ever single-day deployment.

The Coronation did not formally change the King's status. Charles became King of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms in September, when his mother Queen Elizabeth II died after 70 years on the throne.

Since then, months of intense planning went into the celebrations - the 40th coronation to take place at Westminster Abbey since 1066.

This time, the ceremony emphasised diversity and inclusion, with more multi-faith elements than any previous coronation, with contributions from Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Sikh representatives.

A Bible lesson was read by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is Hindu, and music was sung in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish.

Reuters

Getty Images

What else happened around the UK on Coronation day?

• Street parties and gun salutes to mark Coronation in Scotland
• Beach party and big screens as Wales celebrates the Coronation
• 'Thrilling' scenes in NI on King's Coronation day

Additional reporting by Marie Jackson, Alys Davies and Aoife Walsh.

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Related Topics

• UK Royal Family
• Coronation of King Charles III
• Queen Camilla
• King Charles III

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Three people stabbed to death in east London in less than eight hours - The Guardian

Three people were stabbed to death in separate incidents in east London over a period of less than eight hours as the bank holiday weekend began on Friday.

Murder investigations began after the deaths of an 18-year-old and a man in his late 20s, the Met police said, while detectives are still hunting for the killers of a 16-year-old who was ambushed as he left school and stabbed to death.

On Friday night, a teenager was stabbed to death after two groups were reported to have been fighting with machetes near Dagenham Heathway tube station.

Police and the London ambulance service were called shortly before midnight and found an 18-year-old with stab injuries, who died at the scene despite the efforts of the emergency services to save him.

A second man was taken to hospital with a stab injury, and a 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and is in police custody.

DCI James Shirley said his thoughts were with the young man’s family and friends.

“I want to offer my full reassurances to them, and the wider community, that despite the significant events taking place in London today, the focus of my team is bringing the person or people responsible to justice,” he said.

The capital has been exceptionally busy with King Charles’s coronation, a significant anti-monarchy counter protest as well as the usual bank holiday revelry.

Shirley added: “Our investigation is progressing at pace and I would thank everyone who has already spoken to officers. I would ask anyone who has not yet come forward to do so as a matter of urgency. I would also ask local residents to check dashcams and doorbell footage for anything out of the ordinary and share that with us as soon as possible.”

Also on Friday, a man was fatally stabbed at a residential property on Mare Street, Hackney. Police were called at 11.07pm on Friday and found a man in his late 20s, who was declared dead at the scene.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of murder. Two men, one in his 40s and the other in his 50s, and one woman in her 50s have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

They were taken to east London police stations where they remain for questioning, the Met said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, no arrests have yet been made after a 16-year-old boy was stabbed while leaving Kelmscott school, Walthamstow, by attackers who an eyewitness said were waiting for him. The school’s headteacher, Sam Jones, said in a statement that the attack marked the “darkest of days” for the community.

Road closures and cordons remain in place around the scene.

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King Charles III crowned in ceremony blending history and change - Reuters UK

• Summary

• Coronation ceremony dates back 1,000 years
• King succeeded his mother Queen Elizabeth in September
• World leaders gathered in Westminster Abbey
• Tens of thousands on streets to witness moment of history
• No formal role, or balcony appearance, for Prince Harry

LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) - King Charles III was anointed and crowned on Saturday in Britain's biggest ceremonial event for seven decades, a display of pomp and pageantry that sought to marry 1,000 years of history with a monarchy fit for a new era.

In front of a congregation including about 100 world leaders and a television audience of millions, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, slowly placed the 360-year-old St Edward's Crown on Charles' head as he sat upon a 14th-century throne in Westminster Abbey.

During the solemn two-hour service, elements of which date back to the time of King William the Conqueror in 1066, Charles' second wife Camilla was also crowned queen.

A huge military procession followed, gun salutes were fired, thousands of soldiers roared three cheers, and there was a scaled-down flypast by military aircraft as the king and queen waved from the balcony of Buckingham Palace to cheering crowds who gathered on The Mall boulevard.

While rooted in history, the ceremony - only the second British coronation to be televised - was also an attempt to present a forward-looking institution and to reflect a more diverse country.

"I come not to be served but to serve," Charles said at the start.

With Britain struggling to find its way in the political maelstrom after its exit from the European Union and maintain its global standing, the monarchy's supporters say the royal family provides an international draw, a vital diplomatic tool and a means of keeping it on the world stage.

"No other country could put on such a dazzling display - the processions, the pageantry, the ceremonies, and street parties," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.

But despite Sunak's enthusiasm, the coronation took place amid a cost of living crisis and public scepticism, particularly among the young, about the role and relevance of the monarchy.

Charles, 74, automatically succeeded his mother as king of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms including Canada and Australia when Queen Elizabeth died last September.

Saturday's event was on a smaller scale than that staged for her in 1953, but still sought to be spectacular. There was an array of historical regalia from golden orbs and bejewelled swords to a sceptre holding the world's largest colourless cut diamond.

After the service, Charles and Camilla, 75, departed in the four-tonne Gold State Coach built for George III, the last king of Britain's American colonies, to ride to Buckingham Palace in a one-mile procession of 4,000 military personnel from 39 nations.

Meanwhile hundreds of soldiers in scarlet uniforms and black bearskin hats lined the route along The Mall for what was the largest ceremonial event of its kind in Britain since Queen Elizabeth's coronation.

Tens of thousands of people ignored pouring rain to mass on the streets to watch what some saw as a moment of history.

"When I was a young girl, I was able to watch (the coronation of) Queen Elizabeth on television in Hartford, Connecticut, at a friend's house because we had no TV," said retired U.S. teacher Peggy Jane Laver, 79.

"So I'm thrilled to be here for the coronation in person."

Not everyone who came to watch was there to cheer Charles, with hundreds of republicans booing and waving banners reading "Not My King". The Republic campaign group said its leader had been arrested, among 52 people detained as part of a "significant police operation".

SACRED CEREMONY

Inside the abbey, which was bedecked with flowers and flags, politicians and dignitaries from around the world such as U.S. first lady Jill Biden took their seats alongside 2,200 others from charity workers to celebrities, including actors Emma Thompson, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench and U.S. singer Katy Perry.

Charles looked solemn as he swore oaths to govern justly and uphold the Church of England - of which he is the titular head.

He was then hidden from watching eyes by a screen for the most sacred part of the ceremony when he was anointed on his hands, head and breast by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby with holy oil consecrated in Jerusalem.

After being presented with symbolic regalia, Welby placed the St Edward's Crown on his head and the congregation cried out "God save the King".

Gun salutes were fired at the Tower of London and across the capital, the nation, in Gibraltar, Bermuda and on ships at sea.

Charles' eldest son and heir Prince William, 40, knelt before his father to pledge his loyalty as his "liege man of life and limb".

Much of the ceremony featured elements that Charles' forebears right back to King Edgar in 973 would recognise, officials said. Handel's coronation anthem "Zadok The Priest" was sung as it has been at every coronation since 1727.

But the service also included an anthem composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, famed for his West End and Broadway theatre shows, a gospel choir, and an "unprecedented" greeting from faith leaders.

However, there was no formal role for either Charles' younger son Prince Harry, after his high-profile falling out with his family, or his brother Prince Andrew, who was forced to quit royal duties because of his friendship with late U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.

They sat in the third row behind working members of the royal family and neither appeared on the palace balcony.

Camilla's crowning sealed her rise from a position of deep unpopularity in the period after Charles' divorced first wife, the popular, glamorous Princess Diana, died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

For the last decade, the royal family has enjoyed massive global media attention, celebrating everything from weddings, births, and significant anniversaries to mourning last year's death of Queen Elizabeth, and now Charles' coronation.

But, no major event is likely for some years, and with polls indicating a decline in support for the monarchy, especially among the young, commentators say adapting and staying relevant is the greatest challenge to the institution.

Neil Edward, 72, a retired salesman who travelled from southwest England to watch, said the experience had been a mixture of pride and nostalgia with a touch of sadness that this might be the last big royal event he attends.

"Without them, I don't know how we would come together to celebrate big events like this," he said.

Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill, Sarah Young, Suban Abdulla, Farouq Suleiman, Muvija M and Paul Sandle Editing by Frances Kerry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Coronation live: King Charles III to be crowned in Westminster Abbey alongside Queen Camilla - The Guardian

From 2h ago

Saturday 6 May

6am BST: Viewing areas open along the 1.3-mile procession route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.

7.15-8.30am: Guests for Westminster Abbey begin to arrive.

9am: Congregation to be seated inside the abbey.

9.30-10.45am: Heads of state, overseas government representatives, government ministers, first ministers, former prime ministers, foreign royals and members of the royal family arrive.

9.45am: The Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry begin to gather for the procession from Buckingham Palace.

10.20am: The king and queen consort’s procession sets off from the palace.

10.53am: The king and queen consort arrive at Westminster Abbey.

11am: They enter the Abbey through the great west door and the service begins.

12pm: The king is crowned. The archbishop of Canterbury places the St Edward’s crown on his head. Trumpets will sound and gun salutes will be fired across the UK.

1pm: The service ends and the newly crowned king and queen begin their coronation procession back to Buckingham Palace in the gold state coach.

1.33pm: The king and queen consort enter Buckingham Palace through the Centre Arch.

1.45pm: The king and queen receive a royal salute from the military in the palace gardens

Approximately 2.15pm: The king, queen and members of the royal family appear on the palace balcony to watch the flypast – weather permitting.

Sunday 7 May

The monarchy wants Sunday to be a day of street parties and coronation “Big Lunches”, with about 3,000 road closures for parties, and members of the royal family attending some events.

At 7pm BST there will be a concert in the grounds of Windsor Castle. The event will be watched by a crowd of 20,000 members of the public and invited guests and broadcast on television and radio.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/06/head-of-uks-leading-anti-monarchy-group-arrested-at-coronation-protest

Graham Smith had been collecting drinks and placards for demonstrators at Trafalgar Square when he was detained by police on the Strand in central London.

It is understood Smith was detained after bringing a megaphone to the demonstration. The Met police had tweeted earlier this week that they would have a “low tolerance” of those seeking to “undermine” the day.

The arrest, at around 7.30am, came as hundreds of anti-monarchist protesters had gathered at Trafalgar square with large flags and wearing yellow T-shirts as they looked to catch both the eye of the world’s media and a king on his coronation day.

Positioned by London’s oldest statue of Charles I, who lost his head to republicans nearly 400 years ago, those preparing to dissent as Charles III’s coronation procession passed them conceded they were “heavily outnumbered”.

As many as 2,000 protesters are expected to assemble below Nelson’s column by midday including representatives of the Swedish, Dutch and Norwegian republican movements

But the small huddle present early on Saturday morning, under an ominous grey sky, were surrounded by both those out to celebrate and the columns of police officers marching into their positions.

Maria Gomez, 39, from Boreham Wood, in Hertfordshire, said the protest, organised by the long-standing anti monarchy group, Republic, would be peaceful and she hoped to avoid clashes with those who had come to celebrate.

“Some were shouting ‘burn the yellow flags’ earlier but we have had intimidation before – there were eggs thrown in 2012,” she said. “People can get very angry with republicans.”

Alexandra Topping is in the crowds for the Guardian this morning, and she reports:

It is difficult to convey just how utterly rammed the Mall is, and has been, since around 6am this morning.

People are wearing union flag bowler hats, kids are dressed as little kings and queens and the atmosphere is one of good tempered resignation to the long wait ahead. There is a lot of chat about how they got to their spot, and how they will get out and snacks. The British love a bit of logistics chat, and of course waiting patiently is the nation’s favourite pastime.

The forecast rain is yet to arrive and people are generally in a good mood, despite the early starts and the promise of biblical downpours in a few hours time.

That doesn’t worry Alison Marshall, who has travelled from Bolton with her two kids, her sister and her sister’s children.

“We’re used to rain,” she says. “We’ve got ponchos.”

The family travelled down from the north straight after school yesterday, and have been at their spot since before it got light.

“I think being in the north, we don’t see this type of thing every day, we don’t have it around,” she says. “I just think it’s good to keep these traditions alive and just pass it on to your children and hopefully they’ll remember it for the rest of their lives.”

Her son Ben, a good four hours before the first procession is about to start already looks a little fed up. “I’m tired,” he says. “And I’ve had a biscuit for my breakfast.” Is this a good experience? “Yes,” he says. “It’s better than the last one.”

The “last one” was The Queue - the family decided on a whim to travel down to pay their respects to the late Queen, and queue up to pass by her coffin. They arrived in the queue at midday, and got in at two in the morning – 14 hours later.

“That was a hard one,” says Alison, before, inexplicably, adding: “And at the end of that we all made the promise that we’d come back today.”

Her 15 year old daughter FFion says it’s worth it to feel part of history, which she loves.

“I quite enjoyed it last time even though it was 14 hours,” she says. “So when my mum asked, do I want to do this with my cousins? I was like ‘Yeah, go on then’. “We’ve been pretty excited over the past week.”

What do her pals back home think? “They think I’m crazy,” she admits.

More than 5,000 armed forces personnel travelled by train to London Waterloo before marching off to take part in the coronation. PA report Network Rail said it was the biggest movement of military personnel on Britain’s railways since Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral in 1965.

Anti-monarchy protesters have gathered at Trafalgar Square, near where the coronation procession will pass as it heads from the Mall to Westminster Abbey.

Quickly, before events unfold or I start giving away the answer with my endless coronation trivia, there is still time to do the coronation quiz that I set yesterday. Judging from the results my friends were posting on Facebook yesterday, I reckon that 12/20 is a decent score.

In a break with tradition, for the first time at a coronation, people are being asked to swear their allegiance to the king in public as part of the ceremony, although the format has been tweaked slightly from what was first announced.

PA’s court correspondent Tony Jones reports that Charles reportedly approved the change which came after a string of commentators criticised the new addition as divisive.

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will now “invite” a show of support from the congregation rather than a “call” to those in the Abbey and elsewhere to swear allegiance to the King.

On Friday it had seemed like Charles might be trying to distance himself from this innovation, with his friend Jonathan Dimbleby telling BBC radio that the new king finds the idea of people paying homage to him “abhorrent”.

Dimbleby said “I don’t know for certain but it would seem to me that this was an initiative by the archbishop who, as we know, is strongly evangelical, who thought it would be a good thing to give everyone a chance to pay that homage. I think it was well-intentioned and rather ill-advised.”

Following Dimbleby’s comments, Lambeth Palace, archbishop’s Justin Welby’s office, repeated its insistence that all elements in the coronation service were drawn up in close consultation with Buckingham Palace. It would not be the first time that a monarch in England has complained about a turbulent priest.

The declaration was intended to replace the homage of peers, which is quite a strange part of the ceremony in itself. Formerly hereditary peers knelt to pay homage to the monarch, before touching the crown and kissing his or her right cheek.

We asked Guardian readers earlier this week what they thought about the new people’s oath though, and … well …

Read more here: ‘You must be joking’: readers on swearing oath of allegiance on King Charles’s coronation

The first guests have begun to arrive and start taking their places at Westminster Abbey. Given that it isn’t even 8am yet in London, and the service doesn’t start until 11am, that is quite a lot of small talk to make.

The archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said that today’s coronation serves as “a powerful reflection and celebration of who we are today, in all our wonderful diversity”.

“The Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla promises to be a beautiful, joyful and historic occasion,” the archbishop said.

“People can certainly expect to be struck by the majesty and sacred wonder of the service, but also to be invited to pause and reflect.

“To reflect on our past, our future and, as we pray for our new sovereign, on our own lives and how we too are called to serve others.

“This service reaches deep into our nation’s Christian history. From the ancient and sacred act of anointing monarchs, to the use of the sixth-century St Augustine Gospels, the service will link us in a profound way with our national story”.

The archbishop added: “But this is not simply history: I hope the service offers people an opportunity to hear the living words of God, which bring good news to every person in every generation.

“I also hope and pray that the coronation will serve as a powerful reflection and celebration of who we are today, in all our wonderful diversity.

“So I will be praying that everyone who shares in this service – in the Abbey, across the country and beyond – will find ancient wisdom and new hope.

“I pray that it inspires us all, like the King and Queen, to live our lives in service to others.”

Since Henry VIII’s schism with Rome, the coronation has either been seen as a forceful assertion of the Protestant faith of the monarch, or a reassertion of Catholicism in the realm.

PA notes that representatives from other faith communities will play an active role in the coronation of a British sovereign for what is said to be the first time.

When the regalia is presented to Charles – Sikh, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish peers will take part, handing over items which do not have Christian meaning or symbolism.

Here are some pictures of the last-minute preparatory work that has been carried out this morning to get the coronation show on the road.

I know, I know. There is a significant chunk of Guardian readers who tell us that we should do less coverage of the monarchy. In defence of this live blog, our stats tell us that the royal coverage we do produce is always deeply read both at scale and at length.

But as a reminder, in our apps and on our website you can always hide any of the containers on the front, so if you do want to have a coronation-free Guardian experience today, just hit the “Hide” button on the front page.

In the app, you are looking for the big ‘X’.

I presume, given that you must have clicked or tapped on the live blog to get here, that I am preaching to the converted, but I thought I should make it clear that the option is there.

As an alternative, you could try this: Māori artist’s web plugin replaces king’s coronation with Indigenous news

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