As much as the British royal family strives to preserve its traditions: the coronation of King Charles III. (74) will set herself apart from her predecessor Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) in a number of respects. The event on May 6th in London has the motto “slimmed down”.
The first difference is the age of the monarchs. The Queen was 25 years young when she walked through Westminster Abbey to the coronation chair on June 2, 1953. Her son, on the other hand, is now 74 years old. As a result, some British media expressed concern in advance that the elderly king might stumble during the ceremony. For his mother, the day was an opportunity to showcase herself in a sparkling silk gown. In the case of Charles, however, royal experts speculate that he may forgo pompous royal robes and prefer a “more relaxed dress code”. Incidentally, the waiting times of the two monarchs between taking office and the coronation also differ: Charles is crowned eight months after the death of the Queen, for her it was almost 1.5 years after the death of her father King George VI. (1895-1952).
In 1953, the royal family displayed all the pomp it had to offer. After all, it was also the first coronation in Great Britain to be televised live worldwide. The ceremony began at 11:15 a.m. and lasted more than three hours. It starts on May 6th at 11 a.m. (local time, 12 p.m. CEST) – and it is expected that the ceremony will be significantly shorter than the Queen’s. The guest list was also shrunk. In 1953, 8,250 guests from 129 nations came, and Westminster Abbey was literally bursting at the seams. Only 2000 people are invited this time. For this, King Charles III. make the ceremony a little more modern and allow more diversity. Therefore, members of various faiths were invited, including Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists. Buckingham Palace stated: “The ceremony has maintained a similar structure for over a thousand years and this year’s coronation is expected to incorporate the same core elements while acknowledging the spirit of our time.”
On May 6th there will be a double coronation, which has not happened in Great Britain for a long time. Charles’ wife Camilla (75) is the first Queen Consort to be crowned at Westminster Abbey in almost a century. Most recently, the Queen’s mother, Queen Elizabeth (1900-2002), was made Queen Consort in 1937. She received a crown with more than 2000 diamonds on the outside. However, at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, her husband, Prince Philip (1921-2021), was not crowned. The Buckingham Palace website states: “Unless otherwise decided, a queen consort will be crowned with the king in a similar but simpler ceremony. If the new empress is a queen, her consort will not be crowned or anointed at the coronation ceremony. “
The subsequent journey back to Buckingham Palace is also shorter than it was 70 years ago: it will only be 1.3 miles (2.1 kilometers) instead of five miles (eight kilometers), as the “Telegraph” reports. Observers fear that fewer people will be able to wave to the royal couple and that royal fans will secure seats on the route days in advance. Because compared to 1953 there will be no ticket system. Back then, 96,000 visitors bought a seat right in front of Westminster Abbey. More than 40,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers and 24 marching military bands took part in the grand procession of Queen Elizabeth II.
King Charles III wants to streamline the royal family and save costs. That’s why royal pundits expect his big day to be nowhere near as expensive as his mother’s. The Queen’s coronation cost £1.57m (€1.8m) back then, which is equivalent to £45m (almost €51m) today. The austerity course can also be seen on the balcony of Buckingham Palace: Charles only wants to gather the working core of the family there next to him.
