The ‘reduced’ coronation of Carlos III still aspires to capture the royal magic

Many of the almost mythical rituals and objects that will be used for Charles III’s coronation are deeply inspired by British symbolism dating back hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

London’s Westminster Abbey has been the site of coronations since 1066, and artifacts such as the silver-gilt coronation spoon (used to transfer the sacred oil with which the monarch is anointed) date back to 1349.

During the ceremony, King Charles III will don the same luxurious robes his grandfather George VI wore at his coronation, while carrying a 17th-century golden orb and scepter last seen atop Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin.

When crowned, the king will sit on the Stone of Destiny, an ancient and sacred symbol of the Scottish monarchy whose legend dates back to biblical times.

In essence, the entire event will aim to convey the history, tradition and enigma that embodies the monarchy.

“It will be a very mysterious-looking ceremony that may seem strange to many people around the world. But what some will find strange, others will find fascinating,” says Luke Blaxill, professor of British constitutional and political history at the University of from Oxford.

Some ardent fans are already mesmerized. Along The Mall, the long avenue that leads to the royal residence, Buckingham Palace, the most committed royalist supporters began camping in late April to ensure a prime view of the royal procession to and from the abbey.

While the ceremony will no doubt be opulent, it is intended to be less ostentatious than past coronations. “This event is simplified and pared down,” says Ed Owens, royal historian and author of The Family Firm. “There is a much greater emphasis on the democratization of ritual and ceremony as a result.”

This approach correlates with a decades-long effort by the royal family to boost its popularity by appearing more accessible and translates into a more inclusive ceremony. The women bishops will participate in a coronation for the first time on Saturday, as will representatives of non-Christian religions. In another first, texts will be read in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic.

The list of attendees for the ceremony has also been adapted: most of Britain’s 24 non-royal dukes, who normally participate in robes and crowns, are not invited. Some 2,000 guests are expected, including 450 members of the public who have served their communities, a far cry from the more than 8,000 who packed into Westminster Abbey for Elizabeth II’s coronation 70 years ago.

A monarch with his feet on the ground

As this will be the first coronation most viewers have witnessed, the darker changes are likely to go under the radar. Time-consuming rituals, such as presenting the monarch with gold bars, have been removed so that the duration of the ceremony is just over an hour.

Other details are intended to convey the image of a royal ceremony brought ashore, almost literally.

Invitations to the ceremony emphasized the king’s environmentalism, featuring flora from the British Isles and the Green Man, an ancient figure from British folklore who symbolizes spring and rebirth. State leaders have been encouraged to reduce emissions by traveling to the ceremony on chartered flights rather than private jets, and key items such as the king’s coronation robes and throne chairs are being repaired and reused.

Symbolic images of nature will be threaded throughout the ceremony. Catherine, Princess of Wales is reportedly considering wearing a floral headdress instead of a tiara.

Such changes mark a shift in approach from the monumental display of royal pageantry used at Elizabeth II’s state funeral eight months earlier, and may be an acknowledgment that the public may be feeling fatigue from large-scale royal events. .

“There is only a certain amount of public appetite for pomp and royal ceremony, even in Britain,” Blaxill argues. “There will be a reduction in the element of novelty. And the important background context here is that there is a cost of living crisis: this slightly reduced ceremony is quite a deliberate attempt to reflect that.”

Even though the ceremony has been “scaled down”, estimates of how much the coronation will cost have already sparked backlash amid reports that Carlos III’s personal fortune runs into the billions.

Tabloid newspaper ‘The Mirror’ reported that British taxpayers will foot a £250 million bill for the coronation, of which £150 million (about 170 million euros) will be spent on security alone. By way of comparison, he reports that Elizabeth II’s coronation 70 years ago cost the equivalent of £47 million.

Other media outlets have put the total cost at close to 100 million pounds, still a seemingly extravagant sum at a time when inflation is preventing some Britons from buying essential goods.

The cost-of-living crisis isn’t the only issue holding people back. After Brexit, a series of short-lived prime ministers and the death of its longest-ruling monarch, Britain has lost the clear sense of national identity that a large-scale coronation could help cement.

“The coronation is meant to be an event that projects a sense of British self-confidence, but Britain has had a pretty rough time over the past seven years,” says Owens. “There is nothing like the same level of positivity or optimism that characterized Elizabeth II’s coronation.”

royal magic

Britain is far from a nation of inveterate royalists: just over a third of British adults are indifferent to the coronation.

An ill-fated attempt to make the process less elitist has sparked near universal anger. Instead of the traditional ‘Homage of the Peers’ – during which hereditary peers, historically members of the aristocracy, would kneel to swear allegiance to the king – the ‘Homage of the People’ will invite viewers at home to swear allegiance to King Charles. III and its successors. Critics have called the attempt to democratize the ceremony a reflection of the royals’ disconnect with the public.

“Britain is a liberal democracy, where we believe in free speech,” Owens explains. “The idea that we have words put in our mouths as part of this ceremony and that we are swearing allegiance to the monarch and his successors, in particular, has been problematic.”

“I think maybe asking people to say ‘God save the king’ would have been about the limit,” Blaxill adds.

Still, almost half of adults in the UK plan to watch the ceremony or take part in the coronation celebrations over the weekend.

Notable republicans, including Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford and Sinn Fein’s Northern Ireland leader Michelle O’Neill, have also said they will attend the ceremony in person.

Perhaps they hope to witness a unique historical spectacle, if not a moment of real magic.

Although the coronation of Carlos III has been designed to give the impression of a more humble head of state than his predecessors, it must also retain some of the mystical power that allows people to see him as a monarch and not just a man with a gold crown.

Historically, coronations were deliberately closed to the public to project an elite sense of power and mystery, and a moment on Saturday will uphold this tradition. The holiest part of the ceremony, which dates back to the 7th century, will take place behind a specially designed screen. During the anointing, the most senior bishop in the Church of England anoints the monarch with holy oil, indicating that the king has been chosen by God.

“This is the moment when the mystical and spiritual dimensions of the monarchy become visible through its invisibility,” Owens details. A few minutes during which millions of viewers in the UK, the Commonwealth and beyond are invited to suspend their disbelief and take a leap of faith to make Charles III King.

Article adapted from its original in English