A committee responsible for collecting applications for the May 6 ceremony received hundreds of requests, according to Buckingham Palace. But these candidates meet very strict selection criteria.
They hope to hand a glove or a towel to King Charles III on D-Day. Hundreds of people have come forward in the hope of being chosen to participate in the coronation of Charles III, scheduled for May 6 in London, as Buckingham Palace assures Sky News.
They respond to a call launched at the beginning of the year by a dedicated unit, the Coronation Requests Committee, responsible for finding volunteers for these honorary services.
A participation linked to property or heredity
Applications are open until February 3, but the selection criteria are strict: according to the British media, only a few aristocrats can claim it.
Indeed, the right to play a part in the coronation of a British monarch is only obtained by property or heredity. For example, the DailyMail reported in early January that according to protocol, the honor of handing over the gauntlet can only go to the owner of the mansion in Worksop, Nottignhamshire.
Centenary tradition
This committee replaces the Court of Requests, which had played the same role prior to the last coronation, that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, and whose first traces of activity date back to 1377.
Always according to DailyMailthis Court had at the time received a proposal from the Lord High Steward of Ireland – an hereditary title – to wear a great white wand, or from the Duke of Somerset who proposed to wear the queen’s orb and sceptre.
The program for the three days of festivities surrounding the coronation was unveiled a few days ago. The ceremony, set for May 6 in the morning, will take place at Westminster Abbey like the previous coronations of British monarchs for 900 years. It will be, as tradition dictates, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church.
Missed appointment with modernity
Last September, the British press reported that the new sovereign was considering a sober coronation, in the context of the economic crisis in the United Kingdom. But for the monarchy specialist Catherine Pepinster, who confides in Sky Newsthis strict selection of volunteers to participate in the coronation represents a missed appointment with modernity:
“They could have drawn lots… or chosen people who have done great things for the country. Instead, they emphasize heredity and obviously heredity is at the heart of the monarchy…”
“I don’t understand why they didn’t take this opportunity to use these little ceremonials to be more modern, thanks to the people involved,” she concludes.
