King Charles III’s Coronation: Britain’s New Monarch Takes Oath At Westminster Abbey Ceremony
King Charles III has taken his Coronation Oath at Westminster Abbey a moment he has prepared for his entire life as thousands of church guests and millions of watchers around Britain and the world witnessed his crowning, the biggest ceremonial event the nation has put on in 70 years.
King Charles III becomes the 40th monarch of the United Kingdom to be crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, while his wife Camilla was anointed as the queen consort.
What is a coronation?
A coronation is the formal inauguration of a monarch with royal powers. During the event, King Charles III, who is 74 has been crowned in front of 2,000 guests.
The coronation of British monarchs has remained relatively unchanged for nearly 1,000 years.
William, I was crowned king of England at the same location in Westminster Abbey in 1066.
Britain’s last coronation took place in 1953 when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at the age of 27.
Charles took to the throne following the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, in 2022. She was queen for 70 years Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
Succession to the British throne determines who will become the next king or queen. It is decided based on descent, religion and primogeniture.
Protestant descendants of Princess Sophia, the granddaughter of James I, are eligible to the throne. The future monarch must also be “in communion” with the Church of England.
Previously, younger male heirs acceded to the throne, displacing elder daughters. However, in 2013, a law was passed that allowed female heirs equal rights in the line of succession.
After King Charles III, the line of succession for the British crown is:
Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge (40)
Prince George (9)
Princess Charlotte (8)
Prince Louis (5)
It is estimated that the coronation will cost between 50 to 100 million pounds ($63m-126m), according to unofficial sources. It comes at a time when the UK is facing persistently high inflation. In a recent YouGov poll, 51 per cent of Britons said the coronation should not be publicly funded.
Coronations are state occasions, as such they are paid for by the government. According to a Buckingham Palace spokesperson, “funding sources will include the sovereign grant and the UK government”.
The sovereign grant is taxpayer funded and is used to pay for official duties carried out by the monarch. For the 2021-22 period, the grant was 86.3 million pounds ($108.8m).
King Charles III’s grandfather, King George VI’s coronation cost 454,000 pounds ($573,000) in 1937 — 24.8 million pounds ($31m) in today’s money. While his mother, Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 cost 912,000 pounds ($1.2m) — roughly 20.6 million pounds ($26m) in today’s money.
The cost of King Charles’s coronation will be released after the event.
