A ceremony so medieval and spectacular that its modernization has become a controversy. Carlos III, the first king in 300 years BC waited 74 years to ascend the throne, He was crowned on Saturday morning in Westminster Abbey together with his wife Camilla, former lover, wife, then queen consort and by decision of the sovereign, the new British queen.
The most luxurious Crown Jewels and the centuries-old Coronation ceremonial, with the Anglican church showing its ancestral rites and, at the same time, a popular tribute of support to Carlos, which replaced the membership of the aristocrats, who made the ruler uncomfortable.
A modern ceremony. The Parker Bowles, ex-husband and children of the new Queen Camilla, arrived by bus and settled in the front row. The Queen’s grandchildren attended her coronation, wore her long royal train and were of course received. A royal family reunited but not reconciled.
A strange coincidence. When the whole country says that Prince William has a lover and that this is Prince Harry’s real reproach to his brother, and the reason for their fight, the sons of the accused countess were among the pages who carried the king’s tail together to his nephew, George, the other heir to the British throne.
Kate’s accomplices
Kate, Princess of Wales and future Queen, and her daughter Charlotte, who in her adulthood will be “the stunt double” like Harry, dominated the abbey and the procession. This time dressed the same by Alexander McQueen, with an identical crown of silver leaves, representing the four flowers of Great Britain and not a tiara. A tribute to Princess Diana: she wore her jewels, pearl and diamond earrings that she wore on the day her throne was occupied by her historical enemy.
With sublime music, mixing hymns, “God save The King”, Handel’s “Coronation”, “Zadok the priest” and Greek hymns in homage to Prince Philip, his father, the ceremony was perfect. The weight of responsibility had erased the smile of the newly crowned king.
“Thank you, William,” said the king moved, when the heir kissed him and touched the crown.
Camilla smiled at her family, at her grandchildren, who looked at her, with Queen Mary’s heavy crown on her head, as in a fairy tale.
But it was the joyous and soulful “Hallelujah,” in a version by a Gospel choir, with black choir girls dressed in white, that made King Charles and Kate smile at the same time, Princess of Wales. As if in agreement, they looked at each other. Between real there are no words but gestures.
For those who attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding, there was not only a very American sermon, but a wonderful and unusual gospel choir in the Windsor Palace chapel.
After the brutal difference between William and Harry, was the coronation gospel a gesture and a request for “the boys not to turn my last years into martyrdom?”, as Carlos III asked his sons? Time will tell.
Meghan, “the people’s princess”
Prince Harry had arrived by airliner on Friday for his coronation. He slept at the Frogmore Cottage and left immediately after for Montecito because his son Archie was turning 4 years old.
Due to the time difference, it may arrive on time. He didn’t agree to attend the coronation dinner with his family at Buckingham Palace.
Prince Harry didn’t see any of his family who weren’t present at the ceremony. A car picked him up at the Abbey door and set off for California.
But there was no physical gesture from his father at the coronation, as expected, towards him. Harry bowed his head as he passed, towards the Abbey exit, out of respect.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has decided not to come. But the anti-monarchists of Downing St have taken her as a model. When they stated on their yellow signs “Not my king” or “abolish the monarchy”, hand-painted signs with Meghan’s face and a headline appeared: “People’s Princess”.
The same status that then Prime Minister Tony Blair had given at the time of his death to Princess Diana, who lost her Royal Highness status after her divorce from Carlos. A status that will infuriate Buckingham’s courtiers.
Police arrested six anti-monarchists and their truck with posters, but the protest reached the palace.
Censorship
The arrangement for the coronation was a logistical challenge which resulted in the deployment of 11,000 police officers, snipers on the actual trail, and 5,000 troops. A scenario not seen since the death of Sir Winston Churchill.
Guests began arriving at the Abbey from 7:30 in the morning. Women with strict hats. British prime ministers sat together. Cherie Blair also gave Gordon Brown an unexpected kiss, which she detests.
The BBC managed the rights to the pictures and Buckingham Palace was allowed to censor the pictures. British channels protested this restriction.
Here because not a single close-up of Prince Harry or Prince Andrew was seen, hidden behind a column. He had not been allowed to wear military uniform, but rather the robes and cloak of the Order of the Garter, given to him by his mother before she died, as well as by Princess Anne.
Nor was it seen that the Middlelton family, Kate’s parents, were gone. Her parents, her sister Pipa and her brother James have been impeccable and discreet there.
A traditional yet modern carriage
The King and Queen arrived for the ceremony in a traditional yet modern Australian-built carriage, equipped with heating and air conditioning, and returned to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach, built in 1760 and used at all coronations at starting with that of William IV in 1831. For the Windsor, some traditions cause enormous back pain but are respected.
The King and Queen made a short bumpy journey back to Buckingham Palace.
Camilla, the woman some thought would never be queen, had been crowned, in her ivory crystal dress and diamond necklace.
The ancient carriage is made of gilded wood, covered with a thin layer of gold leaf, and includes decorated panels painted by the Italian painter Giovanni Battista Cipriani. Trees decorated with symbols of the Seven Years War sprout from lion heads at every corner.
In 1762, when the carriage was built as a gift to George III, the war with France was drawing to a close. Many monarchs have complained of the uncomfortable ride afforded by the richly decorated carriage.
Queen Victoria commented on the “distressing sway” of the luxurious velvet cabin. Elizabeth II described her 1953 voyage as “not very comfortable”.
a popular festival
The day has finally come. The forecast was right and she poured with rain. For most people, this was their first chance to witness the pomp and splendor of a coronation.
Millions of people around the world watched it on television. Tens of thousands risk rain and wind to line the procession route. Some spent two nights sleeping in sleeping bags at The Mall for a quick glimpse of the Kings. Others celebrate it with street parties and banners.
The official beginning of the reign
The King, dressed in the robes of state and with the sovereign’s scepter and orb, leaves Westminster Abbey behind Penny Mordaunt, president of the privy council, unrecognizable in her dress real and his cloak.
During the years of waiting for the throne, the then Prince of Wales always posed as defender of all religions in multicultural Britain. An impossible mission when he was about to be appointed head of the Anglican church. But the Archbishop of Canterbury, who had to contend with the king’s whims and tantrums these days, indulged him. Leaving the Abbey, the King was greeted by religious leaders, including Sir Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi.
Sir Ephraim must have felt like a king this Saturday, having slept in a palace overnight. To ensure he could attend the ceremony while observing Shabbat, which prohibits Orthodox Jews from using vehicles for approximately 25 hours after nightfall on Friday, the king invited Mirvis and his wife, Valerie, to stay at St James’s Palace so that he could walk to Westminster Abbey.
Mirvis noted that the world would witness the rare sight of a “chief rabbi in a church on Shabbat morning.”
Mirvis said he consulted the judges of the Beth Din rabbinical court about his presence: they obliged because it was at the personal request of the ruler. Last week he said the King had brought in a kosher vendor to serve him: the menu was Coronation Chicken, the meal that was served at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
The real reign of Carlos III and Queen Camilla begins. Officially they say the budget was between £100m and £250m, a fraction of what George IV’s coronation cost in 1821. But these are different times and the 21st century has landed in Britain.
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Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.