Dina Mahmoud (London)
In a festive atmosphere that the United Kingdom has not witnessed for seventy years, amidst strict security measures, and in the presence of more than two thousand invitees from various countries of the world, Britain crowns its King Charles III today, more than eight months after his inauguration by the Throne Council, as successor to his late mother, the Queen. Elizabeth II.
The coronation ceremony, which takes place in Westminster Abbey Church in the heart of London, inaugurates three days of celebrations, which include artistic events and volunteer work, in which UK citizens and residents were invited to participate.
Decorations and barriers
Amidst a state of high alert and a security plan described as complex to confront any potential threats and a state of alert for emergency services, decorations, banners and posters associated with the coronation ceremony have spread over the past days and hours in various squares and main streets of the British capital.
An intensification of police patrols on board cars and motorcycles was also monitored to secure the party, guests and citizens of the Kingdom.
Well-informed British sources said that the leaders of the security and intelligence agencies reviewed the details of this security operation and made amendments to it after the death of Queen Elizabeth.
In reference to the British fondness for symbolic names, such as the term “the fall of the Tower of London”, which was a reference to the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September of last year, the coronation ceremony scheduled for today is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom since the coronation of the late Queen early 1950s, the name “Operation Golden Orb”.
This name is apparently related to what is known as the “royal orb”, which is one of the famous traditional royal pieces in Britain, which was made in 1661 and consisted of a golden ball encrusted with jewels. It is surmounted by a cross encrusted with precious stones, symbolizing that the king or head of state in the United Kingdom represents the religious and moral authority in it.
New ceremonies
And before the start of the ceremony, which began to be arranged since the death of Queen Elizabeth last fall, Buckingham Palace confirmed that although the coronation of King Charles will be “according to ancient traditions”, it will also “reflect the role of the king today and look to the future.” ».
This statement seemed to be a reference to the new ceremonies, which will be included in the coronation celebrations this time, including the invitation addressed to the general public, to take the oath of allegiance to the king, his heirs, and the heirs of the throne, for the first time ever, within the framework of what was described as “honoring the people.”
According to a statement issued by the organizers of the coronation ceremony, it will be possible for “people wherever they are, whether they are watching (the ceremony) from home alone, or watching TV (as well as everyone present in the church), to join the oath,” after the matter was limited in the past, to what is known With the “reverence of peers”, in which the members of the House of Lords, probably, will participate.
Also, for the first time, the coronation ceremony of King Charles, at the age of 74, who will be the oldest king to assume the throne in the history of the British royal family, will include the use of other languages related to the British Isles, as it will include a prayer in Welsh and a chant in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic, and women bishops will be able to from participating in the ceremonies.
According to British sources, the coronation ceremony, whose ceremonies have been unchanged for more than a thousand years and is the only remaining event of its kind in Europe as a whole, marks the formalization of the king’s role as head of the Church of England, and also marks the change of his titles and powers, as monarch of the kingdom. United States and 14 other countries.
More simple ceremony
It is expected that the coronation ceremony of King Charles, scheduled for today, will be shorter in duration and narrower in scope than the ceremonies in which his mother was crowned in 1953. The duration of the coronation ceremony has been reduced to two hours and will be held in the presence of approximately 2,200 invitees, compared to a three-hour ceremony attended by eight thousand people. , at the coronation of Elizabeth II seventy years ago.
It is also expected that the coronation procession, in which the king and queen will ride, will be the “Diamond Jubilee” carriage that was made to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the start of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, and was used for the first time in 2014, to be more simple, than its counterpart that witnessed the day the crown was laid. On top of the late Queen, in which 16,000 people had participated, and it extended for nearly seven kilometers.
This procession, which will extend for about two kilometers, starting from Buckingham Palace in central London to Westminster Abbey Church, is the starting point for the coronation ceremony, which will begin at ten o’clock in the morning GMT, in the presence of members of the royal family in Britain, along with Prime Minister Rishi. Sunak, representatives of the Houses of Commons and Lords, as well as other politicians and royals from around the world.
Among the guests of the ceremony, representatives from 203 countries of the world, as well as religious figures and others representing civil society, and Nobel Prize winners, as well as 400 from different charitable organizations, will have the opportunity to watch the coronation ceremony and the events that precede and follow it, from inside the nearby Church of Saint Margaret. for Westminster Abbey.
traditional events
According to the announced schedule for the ceremony, its activities begin with the presentation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, to the king, as he stands next to the coronation chair, to the crowd in the church, before he takes the “coronational oath”, in which he swears to respect the law and the Church of England.
King Charles will then sit on the coronation chair, which will be hidden from view by a giant three-sided screen used for this purpose for the first time, to remove his robe from him, so that the Archbishop of Canterbury can anoint his hands, chest and head with “holy oil” prepared according to a recipe that has not been made. Detected, but mostly contained, amber, orange flower oils, rose, jasmine and cinnamon.
Next, King Charles bestows the “Instruments of State”, which include the “Royal Orb”, as well as the scepter representing power, the “Sceptre of the King”, a rod of gold topped with a white enamelled dove, symbolizing justice and mercy, and finally, the Archbishop places “St. Edward’s Crown” on the king’s head.
After completing this aspect of the ceremony, King Charles leaves the Coronation Chair, and moves to the Throne, where the members of the House of Lords bow before him. This is followed by a smaller ceremony for the coronation of Queen Camilla, before she and the king return in a crowded procession to the royal Buckingham Palace, aboard the “golden royal chariot”, which is the oldest British royal chariot, about 260 years old, and has been used in all inauguration ceremonies. Since the reign of King William IV in 1831.
After the procession, which will be accompanied by thousands of British soldiers in ceremonial clothes, arrives at Buckingham Palace, members of the royal family will appear from the famous balcony of the palace, to greet the crowds that are expected to gather in front of it, as well as to watch the air show that will be organized by planes from the Royal Air Force on this occasion.
gains
While the budget for the coronation ceremonies, which will take place over a long three-day weekend in Britain, has not yet been revealed, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said the events contribute to the country’s economic recovery.
The spokesman said that there are reports that the ceremonies and events, which also include a concert at Windsor Castle in west London, to be attended by 10,000 randomly selected Britons, are expected to pump more than one billion pounds (equivalent to $1.25 billion) into the arteries of the British economy, amid expectations that The costs amount to a similar amount.
According to data published in Britain, reservations for flights coming to the country from the United States in particular increased by 10 percent, compared to their counterparts in May of 2019, that is, before the outbreak of the Corona epidemic. It is also estimated that the sale of television broadcasting rights for the coronation ceremony to foreign television broadcasting stations will generate significant revenues in turn.
At the same time, British security sources reported that the authorities had mobilized thousands of security forces from all over the United Kingdom to confront “any threats, or even attempts by thieves and criminals to carry out any violations and crimes amid the dense crowds that will participate in this festive occasion.”
The sources pointed out that, during the past few weeks, the authorities have intensified surveillance operations targeting “extremists”, in addition to their intention to deploy police officers equipped with firearms to guard those invited to attend the coronation ceremonies and prominent foreign figures who will participate in the ceremony.
Yesterday night, a comprehensive security survey was conducted of the route that the royal motorcade would take, from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, including phone booths, garbage dumps, and others, before the roads and some subway stations were closed in the early morning hours.
The British authorities also deployed snipers on the rooftops of houses and buildings located on the path of the procession, whether on its way to or from the church, in addition to its intention to conduct patrols of police elements, whether in uniform or secretly, to secure the celebrations.
40 coronations
Westminster Abbey, located in the heart of the capital, London, is the traditional place that witnesses the coronation of England’s kings for nearly ten centuries. And he will become Charles III, the fortieth British king, who is crowned in this church, since William the Conqueror, whose coronation ceremony took place there, in 1066. But this rule was not without exceptions, of course. The old church building, which is characterized by Gothic architecture, did not witness the coronation of two kings, Edward V and Edward VIII, who had previously abdicated in the thirties of the last century.
In 1953, this giant edifice, whose full name was “St. Peter’s University Church, Westminster,” was on a date with the coronation of Princess Elizabeth, who, after sitting on the coronation chair at that time, became Queen Elizabeth II.
This historic church came into being, in the year 960 AD, as a monastery site, before the construction of its majestic building began, by order of King Henry III in 1245.
Royal chairs
At the moment of the coronation of King Charles III, during the ceremony scheduled for today, the historic “St. Edward” chair, which was made more than 700 years ago, will be used. This chair was previously used for the first time, at the coronation of King Edward II in 1308. According to the details of the coronation ceremony, the king and his wife, Queen Camilla, will sit, at different stages of the ceremony, on other historical chairs.
The palace said the chairs, which will be used during the early parts of the ceremony, were originally made for the coronation of Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953, in Britain’s last coronation, 70 years ago. Besides, Charles and Camilla will also sit on the two thrones during the ceremony. These two chairs were specially made for the coronation of King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, later known as the Queen Mother, in 1937.
Historical crowns
The coronation ceremony of King Charles III witnesses the emergence of historical royal holdings that have not been made public for decades, many of which are preserved in the Tower of London. And on top of these holdings is the “crown of St. Edward”, which will be placed on the king’s head during the ceremony.
The crown, which is used only for coronation ceremonies, was made to mark the coronation of Charles II in 1661 and replaced a medieval copy, believed to date from the 11th century, that had been melted down in 1649.
As for when he leaves Westminster Abbey after the end of the first coronation ceremony, the king will place on his head the “crown of the imperial state.”
This crown was made in 1937, for the coronation of King George VI, father of Elizabeth II, and it is studded with 2868 diamonds. As for Queen Camilla, the king’s consort, she will wear the crown of Queen Mary, Elizabeth II’s grandmother, set with 2,200 diamonds.
George VI clothes
Britain’s King Charles III wears, during the coronation ceremony, velvet dresses of scarlet and purple silk, which are the clothes previously worn by his grandfather, King George VI, during his coronation in 1937. According to the details available about the ceremony, Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, wear two sets of clothes today during the coronation ceremony. ; The first are scarlet tuxedos on arrival and purple ones on departure, all of which were either previously preserved or made by a 334-year-old knitting firm in London called Eddy & Ravenscroft. The formal dresses, which Queen Camilla will wear during today’s coronation ceremony, were originally sewn for the late Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away in September last year.
«The Stone of Destiny»
The “stone of fate”, also known as the “coronation stone” or “stone of silence”, is one of the main symbols of the coronation ceremonies scheduled today in Britain. The stone is a simple rectangular block of red sandstone, not carved or decorated, and does not even contain precious or precious stones. Despite this, it is surrounded by many historical legends, which made it used for centuries in the coronation of the kings of Scotland. One of the four territories that make up the United Kingdom, and it is to be returned to this territory after the ceremony. The Stone of Destiny was a symbol of the Scottish nation and monarchy for centuries before it was transferred to Britain. In 1996, in celebration of the 700th anniversary of the stone’s transfer from Scotland to England, it was returned, with the late Queen’s approval, to Edinburgh Castle. But it was transferred again before the ceremony scheduled for today
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