What will happen at King Charles’s coronation?
The coronation of King Charles III will take place on 6 May 2023.
Like his mother, the King will be crowned at Westminster Abbey, in the presence of faith leaders, peers, MPs, and foreign heads of state.
While official details of the day’s events are yet to be released, here Sky News looks at what we can expect in the ceremony conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The gold state coach was used for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation
What will happen on the day?
The Queen’s coronation took place at 11.15am on 2 June 1953.
Timings for the latest coronation have not been revealed, but it is likely to be in the morning as well.
On the day, King Charles will travel from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey with his Queen Consort, Camilla.
Like his mother and father, they are likely to be taken in the gold state coach, which is reserved for coronations and jubilees.
Up to a million people travelled to London to watch the coach along the Mall in 1953.
Crowds in Trafalgar Square on the day of the Queen’s coronation
The ceremony will be broadcast live on television, but the number of guests who attend in person is expected to be cut from 8,000 to 2,000.
It is thought it will be shorter than the previous one – lasting just over an hour instead of three.
Peers will wear suits and formal dresses as opposed to ceremonial robes and many of the traditional rituals, including the presentation of gold ingots, will not feature this time.
In its statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.”
Experts have speculated that the current cost of living crisis and the King’s desire for a slimmed down monarchy are behind the decision for a more muted ceremony.
The Queen and Prince Philip ride in the gold state coach to Westminster Abbey
Bob Morris, a senior research associate at University College London’s Constitution Unit, added: “We are led to believe that he’s very sensitive to the present economic situation for example.
“I think when you look at what the last coronation was, it was an enormous undertaking – 8,250 people were crammed into Westminster Abbey, some of the rows of seating reached 11 tiers high in the nave.
“And I think he must be sensitive to the view that in retrospect we can see the whole business of 1953 as the last imperial hurrah.”
After the ceremony, the King and Queen Consort are likely to appear on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, as the Queen and Prince Philip did in 1953.
The Queen and Prince Philip on the Buckingham Palace balcony after her coronation
Six-part ceremony
There are six parts to the coronation – the recognition, oath, anointing, investiture, enthronement and homage.
The recognition sees the monarch stand in the theatre – the central part of the Abbey – and turn to the north, south, east and west to ‘show himself unto the people’.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will then declare him the ‘undoubted King’.
This ritual dates back to Anglo-Saxon times.
The Queen’s funeral was held at Westminster Abbey
Second is the coronation oath, which will see the King promise to reign according to law, exercise justice with mercy and maintain the Church of England.
He will then be presented with the Sword of State and declare at the altar: “The things which I have here before promised, I will perform, and keep. So help me God,” before kissing the Bible and signing the oath.
The third part – the anointing – follows, which is the process of blessing and consecrating the new monarch with holy oil – the central act of the religious ceremony. The King will remove his crimson robe and sit in King Edward’s Chair.
Fourthly, the investiture is the official crowning.
It will see the King dressed in special robes and presented with the orb, coronation ring, sceptre and rod.
Sitting in King Edward’s Chair, he will be crowned with St Edward’s Crown before the congregation shouts out ‘God Save the King’.
The Queen carries the orb and sceptre during her coronation ceremony in 1953
This is followed by the enthroning, which will see the monarch lifted onto a different throne by archbishops, bishops and “other peers of the kingdom”.
The final stage of the King’s coronation is known as homage.
It sees the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Prince of Wales and other royal blood princes paying tribute to the King by placing their hands between his and kissing his right hand.
Queen Elizabeth II wears St Edward’s Crown
Camilla to be crowned
The Queen Consort will then also be crowned.
Unlike the wives of Kings, the husbands of Queens do not become King Consorts and are therefore not crowned.
But ahead of her Platinum Jubilee, the Queen announced Camilla would be known as Queen Consort on King Charles’s accession.
Instead the Duke of Edinburgh ‘paid homage’ to Queen Elizabeth II immediately after the formal coronation – as Prince William and other princes are likely to do this time.
The Queen Mother was anointed and crowned during her husband’s coronation in 1937.
According to the Royal Family’s website: “A Queen consort is crowned with the King, in a similar but simpler ceremony.”
Will it be a bank holiday?
Coronations have traditionally fallen on weekdays, which have been declared bank holidays to allow the public to get involved by either watching on TV or crowding the streets in London.
King Charles’s coronation will fall on a Saturday. It is not yet known if the proceeding Friday or following Monday will be made a bank holiday.
It is taking place eight months after Charles officially became King – when his mother died and he was sworn in as monarch by a meeting of the Accession Council.
The gap between the Queen’s accession and her coronation was twice as long.
It had been rumoured King Charles would be crowned on the same date as his mother – 2 June.
The confirmed date, 6 May, is the same as the first-ever Silver Jubilee when King George V celebrated 25 years on the throne in 1935.
It is also the date the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, married her husband the Earl of Snowdon, Antony Armstrong-Jones.
Comedy writer Bill Dare, – who worked on shows including Spitting Image and Dead Ringers – has died after an accident overseas, his agent said.
Described as a “super producer” by his peers, Dare, 64, worked on eight series of hugely popular satire puppet show Spitting Image.
Airing on ITV during the 1980s and 1990s, the show delighted in lampooning public figures including politicians, celebrities and royalty, winning BAFTAs and Emmys. It was rebooted in 2020.
Dare also created Dead Ringers, a comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
He also produced The Now Show, a satirical take on the news which ran on Radio 4 from 1998 to 2024.
Dare worked on a wide range of comedy shows during his career, including the radio production of The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He had also written several novels.
In a statement released on Monday, his agent JFL Agency confirmed he died at the weekend.
A spokesperson said: “We are shocked and greatly saddened to have to announce the death of our brilliant client Bill Dare, who died at the weekend following an accident overseas.
“Our thoughts are with his wife Lucy, daughter Rebecca, and with all of Bill’s family and friends who will be devastated by his loss.
“Bill was a truly legendary producer and writer, and his comedy instincts were second to none.”
Oasis depicted on Spitting Image in 1996. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Colleagues were quick to pay tribute and reflect on his talent.
Impressionist Jon Culshaw wrote on X: “It’s impossible to express the unreal sense of loss at the passing of the incredible Bill Dare. The wisest comedy alchemist and the dearest, dearest friend. Much love to Lucy and all Bill’s family and friends. We shall all miss him more than we can say.”
David Baddiel posted on the social media platform: “Just heard that the original producer of The Mary Whitehouse Experience on radio, Bill Dare, has died. Bill was an amazing creative force. I owe him much. RIP.”
Former EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman said she was “devastated” and that her “entire comedy career was down to Bill”.
She wrote: “When I was on the BBC Radio 4 rep company early on in career – I ran into Bill in the corridors – He asked if I was good at accents. I said yes.
“He cast me in a sketch show. I had to do about 15 different accents. We recorded in front of a live audience at Broadcasting House – afterwards Bill said ‘Why have I never met you – you’re going to have a big career’.
“He was incredibly loyal and supportive and really opened a path for me into the R4 comedy world and then TV having come out of the RSC and theatre it was all new. I will always be grateful. Fly high Bill.”
Comedian and writer Mark Steel wrote: “This is so grim. Bill was a compassionate hearty soul with the ability to be beautifully grumpy, a marvellously thoughtful comic mind.
“He’d argue but always listen and you’d always laugh, he made a million shows and wanted them all to matter and would have made a million more.”
Have I Got News for You writer Pete Sinclair said: “I am utterly devastated by Bill’s death. I still can’t believe it. He was a comedy genius. A hugely talented writer as well as a brilliant producer. A close friend and co-writer. I cannot begin to say how much I’ll miss him.”
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Julia McKenzie, comedy commissioner for Radio 4, said: “I am so terribly sorry to hear this tragic news and my thoughts are with Bill’s wife, family and friends.
“Bill has been a huge part of Radio 4 comedy for decades, as a writer and producer, and listeners will have heard his legendary name at the end of many of their favourite shows.
“Bill was a comedy obsessive, and very instinctive about making the funniest choices when it came to writing, directing and editing.
“He cared so much about his work that in the production booth during Dead Ringers you’d see him crouched over the script, utterly focused on the show.
“He was funny and very dry in person, amusingly cynical when he needed to be and always pushed to keep the comedy he made, and particularly satire, spiky.
“I’ve known and worked with him for 18 years and like many I can’t believe he has gone, he will leave a big hole in the comedy world and in our hearts.”
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