King Charles III’s coronation is an opportunity to bring people together through the history and pageantry of the monarchy, but those customs are also rife with the possibility of controversy as he strives to demonstrate that the monarchy still has a place in contemporary Britain. The crowning festivities were modified by the new monarch to reflect modern realities, showing that he has already acknowledged these difficulties. Compared to his mother’s 1953 coronation, this one will be more condensed and inclusive. The occasion will see the first active participation of religious leaders from outside the Church of England. Additionally, participants will come from the Commonwealth and all four of the United Kingdom’s countries.
Here are five artefacts that will play a central role in Saturday’s events!
When King Charles III is crowned on Saturday at Westminster Abbey, he will sit atop more than 1,500 years of Irish, Scottish, and English history. Charles will receive the crown while seated in the Coronation Chair, which is suspended over the Stone of Scone (pronounced “scoon”), the revered sandstone platform upon which Scottish kings were traditionally installed. Since 1308, the chair has been present at every coronation. The oak chair stands 2.05 metres (6 feet 9 inches) tall and was originally coated in coloured glass and gold leaf. The chair once had gold trim, but that has long since faded away. It is now covered in graffiti, including one that reads, “P. Abbott slept in this chair 5-6 July 1800.”
After forcibly removing the artefact from Scotland and moving it to the abbey in the late 13th century, Edward I had the chair made especially to contain the Stone of Scone, also known by the Scots as the Stone of Destiny. But the history of the stone goes back far further. According to Westminster Abbey, the stone was reportedly delivered by Fergus Mor MacEirc, the founder of Scotland’s royal line, when he relocated his seat from Ireland to Scotland in the year 498. It served as the coronation stone for Irish kings prior to that period.
The stone was returned to Scotland by Prime Minister John Major in 1996 with the understanding that it would be brought back to England for use in future coronations. The stone was recently carried to the abbey, where a special service was held to mark its homecoming, after being temporarily taken from its current location at Edinburgh Castle in a ceremony presided over by the Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf. The sole item of the coronation regalia to have survived the English Civil War is a silver Coronation Spoon that has been gold-plated. The remainder of the collection was either melted down or sold off when King Charles I was executed in 1649 as Parliament worked to end the monarchy once and for all.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will pour holy oil into the spoon from an eagle-shaped ampulla, or flask, and rub the king’s hands, breast, and head
The Archbishop of Canterbury will pour holy oil into the spoon from an eagle-shaped ampulla, or flask, and rub the king’s hands, breast, and head with it during the most solemn part of the coronation process. The ritual has its origins in the biblical account of King Solomon’s anointing, and its original purpose was to demonstrate that the ruler had been chosen by God himself. The event affirms the monarch’s position as the Church of England’s highest governor, despite the fact that he is no longer regarded as divine. The 26.7-centimetre (10.5-inch) spoon is believed to have been made during the 12th Century for either King Henry II or King Richard I and may have originally been used for mixing water and wine, according to the Royal Collection Trust.
The biggest rough diamond ever discovered, the Cullinan Diamond, will be prominently displayed in the coronation, igniting controversy the royal family would prefer to avoid. Many people in South Africa, where the original stone was discovered in 1905, believe that the diamonds should be returned since they represent colonial tyranny under British authority. The Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross is set with the enormous drop-shaped stone Cullinan I, which weighs 530.2 carats. Charles will receive the sceptre on Saturday as a representation of his temporal authority. Charles will wear the Imperial State Crown when he exits Westminster Abbey, and it is placed on the front with Cullinan II, a cushion-shaped gem weighing 317.4 carats.
When Buckingham Palace declared that Charles’ wife, Camilla, would not don the crown of Queen Elizabeth, the queen’s mother, on the day of the coronation, Charles avoided a similar uproar. The renowned Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is claimed by Iran, Pakistan, and India, is housed in that crown. After being forced to give it up following the invasion of Punjab in 1849, 11-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh’s jewel became a component of the Crown Jewels. The Archbishop of Canterbury will literally crown Charles at the end of the coronation ceremony by placing St. Edward’s Crown on his head. The solid gold crown, which has a purple velvet cap, and ermine band, and is the centrepiece of the coronation, will be worn by the ruler just once during his reign because of its significance as the centrepiece.
Following the ceremony, Charles will replace the 2.08-kg (4.6-lb) crown with the roughly half-as-heavy Imperial State Crown
Following the ceremony, Charles will replace the 2.08-kg (4.6-lb) crown with the roughly half-as-heavy Imperial State Crown for the return march to Buckingham Palace. When reading the yearly speech at the state opening of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth II famously remarked that even the lighter crown was challenging since it would come off if she didn’t maintain an upright posture. “There are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they’re quite important things,” the late queen told Sky News in 2018, flashing a smile. The current St. Edward’s Crown was made for the coronation of King Charles II in 1661 and has been used in every coronation since then. It is a replica of the original crown, which was created in the 11th century and melted down after the execution of Charles I in 1649.
Tourmalines, white and yellow topazes, rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, peridot, zircons, spinel, and aquamarines are among the gemstones that glisten in the crown. According to the Royal Collection Trust, until the early 20th century, the crown was embellished with rental stones that were given back following the coronation. Before George V’s coronation in 1911, it had semiprecious stones permanently placed into it.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla will ride the Gold State Coach, a 261-year-old artefact known as much for its painful journey as its opulent adornment, back to Buckingham Palace from Westminster Abbey. King George III had the vehicle constructed in 1762, and it has been used for every coronation since 1831. Everything about it, from the cherubs on the roof to the Greek sea gods above each wheel, is constructed of wood and covered in gold leaf. The side panels, which are decorated with Roman gods and goddesses, and the interior, which is lined with satin and velvet, are the only significant features that aren’t gilded.
But the coach is heavy — four tons — and old, meaning it only ever travels at walking speed. And while it may look luxurious, the coach features a notoriously bumpy ride because it is slung from leather straps rather than modern metal springs. The late queen wasn’t a fan. “Horrible! It’s not meant for travelling in at all,” she said in 2018 in an interview with Sky News. “Not very comfortable.” That’s one reason Charles and Camilla will ride to the coronation in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, which is equipped with hydraulic shock absorbers, as well as heat and air conditioning.