King Charles III was anointed and crowned on Saturday in Britain’s biggest ceremonial act in seven decades, a sumptuous display of pageantry dating back 1,000 years.
Before a hundred world leaders and millions of television viewers, the Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, placed the 360-year-old crown of Saint Edward on the head of Charles, seated on a 14th-century throne in Westminster Abbey.
Artillery salvos were fired at the Tower of London and throughout the capital, the nation, Gibraltar, Bermuda and ships on the high seas. “God save King Charles. Long live King Charles. May the King live forever,” the congregation in the abbey said after a fanfare of trumpets.
During the historic and solemn two-hour service, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror in 1066, Charles’s second wife Camilla was also crowned queen.
Although rooted in history, the ceremony is also an attempt to present a forward-thinking monarchy, with participants reflecting a more diverse country and all its religions.
With the nation trying to find its way in the political maelstrom after its departure from the European Union and to maintain its position in a new world order, supporters of the monarchy say the royal family provides an international draw, a vital diplomatic tool and a means of keeping Britain on the world stage.
