When, where and how does the coronation take place?

 

Grandchildren and sisters get the most important roles  

All the details surrounding King Charles' coronation 

 Of:  

Jenny Alexandersson  

Published: Today 13.09 

Updated: Less than 40 min ago  

King Charles III  

On Saturday morning, King Charles will be crowned after eight months of waiting. 

The ceremony in Westminster Abbey has been planned for a long time and includes tens of thousands of guests, police, military and volunteers.  

Here are all the holding times, facts and a timeline for the coronation.  

Saturday 6 May at 11.00 British time (12.00 here at home) the service and the coronation ceremony start in Westminster Abbey. 

As early as nine o'clock the guests enter the church. Family, friends, royal colleagues, heads of state, politicians and representatives of various organizations take their seats in the church.  

The royal couple goes in procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. The horse-and-carriage cortege passes The Mall and makes a sharp turn at Admiralty Arch and continues to Westminster Abbey. 

Queen Elizabeth with her grandchildren's children. Prince George will have a prestigious mission during the coronation of King Charles. He is part of the king's entourage of pagers. Photo: TT  

The grandchildren get central roles 

King Charles and Queen Camilla will sit in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach which is a parade carriage pulled by six horses. The carriage is comfortable and has air conditioning. It was produced in 2012 in Australia for Queen Elizabeth's 60th anniversary on the throne.  

The king enters through the great western gate and advances towards the altar with a retinue. It consists, among other things, of church representatives, representatives from parts of the Commonwealth who carry the flags of their countries, and the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Rishi Sunak. 

Charles also has a small entourage of pages with him and among them you will be able to see grandson Prince George and Queen Camilla's grandsons Gus and Louis Lopes, Freddy Parker Bowles and the Queen's grandson Arthur Elliot. It is a truly honorable mission. 

The Queen will be followed by two ladies-in-waiting: Camilla's sister Annabel Elliot and her close friend Lady Lansdowne.  

King Charles' sister Princess Anne gets a real super mission. She will lead the 6,000 soldiers who are part of the procession. Her fancy title is Gold-Stick-in-Waiting and the king gives her the mission to reward her for all the hard work she has done for the royal house over the years. 

On May 6, 2023, King Charles will be crowned in Westminster Abbey. Queen Camilla will also be crowned, but in a simpler ceremony. Photo: Hugo Burnand / AP  

The coronation consists of six parts:  

1. The recognition - the assembly recognizes Charles as regent. It ends with the congregation  exclaiming "God save the king".  

2. The oath – the king takes an oath to the state and to the church.  

3. The Anointing – The Archbishop of Canterbury anoints the King with holy oil from Jerusalem.  

4. The Coronation - King Charles gets St Edward's crown on his head.  

5. The enthroned - the king sits on the coronation throne. Prince William kneels before his father to show his loyalty and reverence. Queen Camilla is crowned through a simpler ceremony and she does not have to swear an oath. Camilla gets Queen Mary's crown on her head.  

6. The tribute - the royal couple take communion, then they step down from their thrones and enter St Edward's chapel behind the altar. There, the king changes to the pompous Imperial State Crown. The royal couple then march out of the church. 

The newly crowned royal couple will ride in procession in the Gold state coach. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/AP  

They must swear their allegiance to the king  

During the ceremony, everyone, guests in the church as well as people outside and television viewers around the world, are invited to swear their oath to the king. They call it the people's tribute:  

"With God as my witness, I swear allegiance to your highness and to those who become your legal successors". 

For the first time ever, the audience gets an active role in a coronation. In the past, only noblemen swore their allegiance to the king at the coronation. This has not been received without protest. Critics say it is "tone deaf", "outdated" and "unwelcome" to swear allegiance to the king.  

Rides in a golden chariot 

Charles wants to be perceived as a modern king and he has changed and renewed several parts of the coronation. More religions than Christianity must be represented. Representatives from Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and Sikhism will present the regalia to King Charles.

He wants to stand for equality and has decided that there will be female bishops present during the coronation – this has never happened before. 

The royal couple returns to Buckingham Palace in a larger procession "The coronation procession". Charles and Camilla sit in the Gold State Coach and parts of the family will also participate in the procession. Over 6,000 military personnel participate in the coronation, which makes it the country's largest military operation in over 70 years.  

Gather on the castle's balcony  

The royal couple will appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony along with all working royals. This means that Prince Andrew, who has been accused of rape, and Prince Harry, who has left the royal house, will probably not be allowed to stand on the balcony. 

60 fighter jets from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force will fly over Buckingham Palace and central London.  

Saturday 6 May 2023 

06.00 All audience areas open.  

07.15 The first guests arrive at Westminster Abbey for security at Victoria Tower Gardens. 

09.00 The guests take their seats in the church. Heads of state, royalty, politicians and members of the royal family arrive.  

10.20 The procession starts from Buckingham Palace. 

10.53 The royal couple arrive at Westminster Abbey.  

11.00 The service and the coronation ceremony start.  

12.00 The Archbishop of Canterbury places St Edward's crown on King Charles' head. Trumpet salutes and cannon salutes will be heard across Britain.  

13.00 The royal couple leaves Westminster Abbey in a horse and carriage procession. Charles and Camilla travel in the Gold State Coach.  

13.33 The royal couple and the rest of the family arrive at Buckingham Palace.  

13.45 The royal couple is greeted with a royal salute from the military at the castle.  

14.15 The royal couple steps out onto the balcony together with members of the royal family. They see fighter jets passing over Buckingham Palace.