About three months before the coronation of King Charles III. the oil needed for the anointing is ready.
Patriarch Theophilus III. and Anglican Archbishop Hosam Naoum consecrated the oil on Friday morning in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the palace in London announced late in the evening.
It was made from olives sourced from two groves on the Mount of Olives – the Church of Mary Magdalene, where Charles’ grandmother Princess Alice of Battenberg is buried, and the Chapel of the Ascension – and pressed near Bethlehem.
The oil reflects the king’s close ties with the Holy Land and his concern for the people there, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said. He will officiate the ceremony at Westminster Abbey on May 6 as Spiritual Head of the Anglican Church. “From the beginning of planning for the Coronation, it has been my desire to create a new Coronation Oil using olive oil from the Mount of Olives,” Welby said. “This shows the deep historical connection between the coronation, the Bible and the Holy Land. From ancient kings to the present day, monarchs have been anointed with oil from this holy place.”
The coronation oil is based on the oil used at the coronation of Charles’ mother Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, it said. The oil has been scented with essential oils – sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin and amber – as well as orange blossom. It is also said to be used for Queen Camilla being crowned alongside her husband.
