London was exhilarating. Excitement was in the air. And former colonists flocked to the U.K. capital to celebrate the coronation of a monarch whose yoke they threw off some 250 years earlier.
“Londoners seem amazed at the hordes of Americans here for the colourful event,” Jacqueline Bouvier – then a freelance journalist before marrying Senator John F, Kennedy months later – wrote describing the scene in London for the Washington Times-Herald in 1953 as the young Queen Elizabeth II was to be crowned.
[Editor’s note: And in 1961, Jackie Kennedy would meet the queen at a gala dinner held for her husband at Buckingham Palace.]
“It was a moment in history of indescribable color and magnificence – this coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, a moment of fanfare in a setting almost wholly medieval,” reported Ruth Lyons a pioneer broadcaster from Cincinnati who is said to have unintentionally invented the daytime talk show.
Over the past weekend, a coronation for the modern age – not only color television but smartphones, social media, video conferencing, satellite communications, and a host of other innovations – took place.
The 73-year-old Charles III became, upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth last year, the oldest person to accede to the British throne, after having been the longest serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales in British history.
His coronation took place Saturday in London, eight months after becoming king and Britain took the opportunity to celebrate the new reign, sparing no cost in doing so to put on a show for the world to watch in real time.
U.S. President Joseph Biden didn’t attend but First Lady Jill Biden did. No U.S. president has ever attended a coronation in the United Kingdom, a spokesman for the White House told reporters, although that comment sidesteps the fact that transatlantic travel was largely limited to steamship voyages prior to the coronation of Elizabeth.
Signs of celebration were visible everywhere in London, even in the Tube. King Charles recorded a special coronation weekend announcement for TfL and Network Rail.
“My wife and I wish you and your families a wonderful Coronation weekend,” Charles opens the message with, which will welcome travelers on trains arriving at stations across the country.
Queen Camilla then continues, “Wherever you are traveling, we hope you have a safe and pleasant journey.”
Charles then concludes: “And remember, please mind the gap.”
The procession to Westminster Abbey set off from Buckingham Palace at 10:20 a.m. local time, moving along The Mall to Trafalgar Square, then down Whitehall and Parliament Street before turning into Parliament Square and Broad Sanctuary to reach the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey.
King Charles and Camilla rode in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach that had been built in Australia in 2012 to mark 60 years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign rather than the older, uncomfortable, Gold State Coach.
The procession arrived at the abbey shortly before 11 a.m. and King Charles, wearing a military uniform instead of the more traditional breeches and silk stockings worn by kings before him, proceeded through the Great West Door to the abbey’s central space, preceded in the processions by religious leaders as well as representatives from some Commonwealth countries, who carried the flags of their country, and were accompanied by the governors general and prime ministers.
The ceremony began promptly at 11 a.m. and was punctuated by music selected by the king, including 12 newly-commissioned pieces including one by Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber as well as Greek Orthodox music to honor the memory of the king’s father, Prince Philip.
Also in the procession were the king’s grandson, Prince George, who was among the pages at Westminster Abbey, alongside Camilla’s five grandchildren. Some of those taking part in the procession inside the abbey carried the regalia ahead of the King, with most items placed on the altar until needed in the ceremony.
It’s notable that the United Kingdom is, according to the royal family website, the only European country that continues to use regalia, namely the symbols of royalty including the crown, orb, and scepters – in its coronations.
Charles was then presented to “the people,” a tradition dating back to Anglo-Saxon times. Standing beside the 700-year-old Coronation Chair, the king turned to face the four sides of the abbey and was proclaimed the “undoubted King” before the congregation.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby made the first declaration followed by declarations by the Lady of the Garter and the Lady of the Thistle – they representing the oldest orders of chivalry in England and Scotland, respectively – – and a George Cross holder from the armed forces.
The congregation then shouted on cue “God Save the King!” and trumpets sounded after each recognition.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
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