Eight months after ascending to the throne following the death of Isabel II, Charles III he was solemnly crowned on Saturday along with his wife Camila in a lavish ceremony, unique in Europe, that the United Kingdom had not experienced for 70 years.
in the sumptuous westminster abbeyIn central London, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, spiritual leader of the Church of England, placed St Edward’s crown on the 74-year-old monarch’s head. It had not been worn since the 1953 coronation of his mother, who died in September.
The crowd gathered in the streets of London, despite the rain, erupted into cheers.
The Queen Camila75, was later crowned.
Then back to Buckingham Palace After their second procession of the day, escorted by thousands of soldiers in full dress uniform, the monarchs appeared on the balcony to greet.
From there they witnessed an air parade shortened by bad weather.
Charles III and Camila They left accompanied by members of the royal family. But Enrique, the 38-year-old king’s youngest son, who maintains tense relations with the monarchy and attended the ceremony without his wife Meghan, who remained in the United States with her two children, was not there.
“God save the king!”
The heirs to the crown William and Katherineaged 40 and 41, had a stellar place in the parade and the religious ceremony, punctuated by music, songs, sermons and readings from the Gospels, conceived according to a lavish ritual that has not changed for a thousand years.
They were accompanied by some 2,300 guests, including the first lady of the United States. Jill BidenBrazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and King Felipe VI and King Letizia of Spain, as well as hundreds of representatives of British civil society.
Enrique discreetly sat next to his cousins in the third row.
“God save King Carlos!” Shouted the attendees, beginning the ceremony with this recognition, accompanied by a fanfare of trumpets, after Carlos III and Camila entered dressed in ceremonial capes after a first procession in a float from the Buckingham Palace.
With his hand on the Bible, the king took the oath. Then, in the most sacred part of the act, Archbishop Welby anointed the hands, chest and head of the monarch, hidden from view by a screen.
Replacing the traditional homage of the aristocrats, the priest then invited everyone, from wherever they were watching or listening to the coronation, to swear allegiance to the new king.
This historical scoop sought to democratize the ceremony, but it provoked strong criticism from anti-monarchists.
Protesters arrested
Thousands of admirers thronged along the route of the royal carriage.
“We are very proud to be British,” Phyllis Taylor, 60, who traveled to London from Scotland with her husband for “this very special occasion,” told AFP.
On their way, however, the royal couple also passed the yellow banners of the anti-monarchist group Republic, which read “Not my king.” The organizers of the protest were arrested before it even started.
“We abolish the monarchy, not the right to protest,” the group tweeted hours later, assuring that “the entire Republic core team remains in custody.” “No reason has been given to us,” he added.
About twenty members of the environmental group Just Stop Oil, which in past protests have blocked roads by sticking to the asphalt, were also arrested. The police, which deployed 11,500 officers for the occasion, announced that they would not tolerate any disturbances.
“No Just Stop Oil activists detained in the crowd had glue, paint or any plans to disrupt the coronation,” the group said on Twitter.
NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Greenpeace also criticized a new law rushed into law this week that gives police greater powers against protests.
In Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, hundreds of people took part in an anti-monarchy demonstration, chanting “down with the monarchy” and calling for independence.
Gold jewelry and clothing
In a context of serious crisis due to the skyrocketing cost of living, the king wanted a more modern and simple ceremony than his mother’s. Even so, three diamond-set crowns were used: one for Camila and two for Charles IIIsince that of San Eduardo is only worn at the precise moment of the coronation.
They also wore various ancient garments embroidered with gold, which the king gradually donned during the ceremony, three sceptres, a sword covered with precious stones and a pair of gold spurs.
Following the monarch’s environmental convictions, the anointing oil was vegan. As tradition requires, he was consecrated in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
On Sunday, there will be potlucks across the country and a huge pop concert in honor of the monarch outside Windsor Castle, west London.
On Monday, which was declared a holiday, the royal couple called on the British to volunteer.
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