King Charles: This was the first time that a proclamation ceremony has been televised. (File)London:
While Charles was proclaimed King on Saturday by the Accession Council at St James’ Palace making him Great Britain’s next monarch, he is yet to be coronated in a separate more elaborate ceremony. Here’s what we know about King Charles’ coronationThe Accession, where Charles was officially proclaimed king, is the event of a new Sovereign taking the throne upon the death of the previous King or Queen. While Charles automatically became king the moment his mother Queen Elizabeth died, his Coronation will take place some months later, following a period of mourning. An elaborate ritual steeped in tradition and history, the date of Charles’ coronation is yet to be announced.Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation took place on 2 June 1953 following her accession on 6 February 1952 after her father George VI’s death.Today, the Accession Council, in Charles’ absence, formally announced the death of Queen Elizabeth and proclaimed the succession of the new King.In London, the public proclamation of the new King was read out at St James’s Palace. Before social media, the public proclamation was the moment when the people would be formally told that the previous monarch had died and who the next sovereign would be.The difference between the ceremony of Accession and the Coronation Ceremony is that the latter is a religious one conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury for the last 900 years at Westminster Abbey, London.Another reason why the Coronation takes place a few months after Accession is the amount of preparation required to organise the former.During the Coronation Ceremony, the King will take the coronation oath where he or she “undertakes to rule according to law, to exercise justice with mercy and to maintain the Church of England”.After the oath, the King will be ‘anointed, blessed and consecrated’ by the Archbishop, while his is seated in King Edward’s chair which has been used by every Sovereign since 1626. The Archbishop will then place St Edward’s Crown on his head following which Holy Communion is celebrated.Guests who attend the coronation ceremony include representatives of the Houses of Parliament, Church and State. Prime ministers and leading citizens from the Commonwealth and representatives of other countries also attend.
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