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Britain’s King Charles III Crowned

by Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

LONDON (Worthy News) – Britain’s King Charles III has been crowned in the first such ceremony in 70 years. Camilla, the Queen Consort, was crowned with Queen Mary’s Crown in a similar ceremony moments later.

During the ceremony, King Charles III made an oath in which he also pledged to remain faithful to the Gospel and the Church of England. He then said a prayer that through “Jesus Christ our Lord,” the One “Who came to serve,” he would receive God’s Grace to serve as king.

The Coronation service for King Charles and Camilla, the Queen consort, was attended by some 2,200 people, including the Royal Family, celebrities, faith leaders, and heads of state.

Earlier, thousands of people braved the rain to line the route from Buckingham Palace as they watched a lavish procession to the Abbey from Buckingham Palace.

There were several readings from the Scriptures during a church ceremony that traces its origins back over 1,000 years.

“Alleluia, alleluia,” sang the Ascension Choir’s praises to the King of Kings, Christ Jesus, in another original composition by Debbie Wiseman. It was the first time during a coronation service that there was joyful Gospel music.

“For God is the King of all the earth,” the choir sang.

ALREADY KING

Prince Charles became King Charles III when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, took her last breath in September. But the May 6 coronation is the big event, when the king and his wife, Queen Camilla, were crowned. Aged 74, Charles was the oldest monarch in Britain’s history to be crowned, according to experts.

“We are here to crown a king, and we crown a king to serve,” said Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as he started to deliver his sermon.

Following the sermon, in which the emphasis on Christ as Kings of Kings was mentioned, there was a call for the Holy Spirit to sustain the monarch.

King Charles was anointed the way the Bible says, Zadok, the priest, took a horn of oil out of the Tabernacle and anointed Solomon.

The oil for the coronation came from olives produced from two groves on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and was declared sacred by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre there.

The day’s formal celebrations began with a lavish procession across central London from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, with the King and Queen traveling in a modern horse-drawn carriage.

Tens of thousands of people ignored the rain here and lined the processional route to catch a glimpse of the royal couple.

VELVET ROBE

Wearing his grandfather’s crimson velvet robe, King Charles was anointed with what was described as “holy oil” before the St Edward’s Crown was placed on his head.

The crowning moment of the ceremony was reached when the Archbishop of Canterbury lowered St. Edward’s Crown onto the head of King Charles while seated upon the ancient wooden coronation chair made in 1300.

The 17th-Century crown is only used for this occasion before returning to the Tower of London.

It’s about 30 centimeters (12 inches) high but looked slightly bigger in an unmissable display of wealth. It holds 444 separate jewels and gemstones, including sapphires, rubies, amethysts, and topaz, experts said.

There was a blast of sound to mark the moment, with the abbey bells being rung and gun salutes fired by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, stationed at Horse Guards Parade, and further down the River Thames at the Tower of London.

Gun salutes reverberated throughout 13 locations around Britain, including in Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast, as well as on naval vessels.

The traditional salvo involves 21 rounds, fired at 10-second intervals.

CAMILLA CROWNED

Soon after Queen Consort, Camilla was anointed and crowned in a similar but simpler ceremony – although she was not asked to take an oath. She was crowned with Queen Mary’s Crown.

After the coronation service in Westminster Abbey, the newly crowned royal couple retraced the route back to the Palace, this time traveling in the Gold State Coach that was built in the 18th century.

The public festivities ended with King Charles and Queen Camilla greeting the crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace and watching a military fly past.

Yet crowning moment had been greeted with mixed reactions outside Westminster Abbey, with many celebrating but also protests being heard.

Earlier, leading members of Republic, the anti-monarchy group, were reportedly among half a dozen people detained near London’s Trafalgar Square.

Every time the words King Charles were mentioned, demonstrators chanted, “Not my king.” In other parts of the service, they were seen and heard booing, shouting: “He’s just a normal man.”

After the anointing, when the words “God save the King” were pronounced, the anti-monarchists booed loudest of all and started chanting “Not my king” again.