What will happen at King Charles’s coronation?

Published

2 years ago

October 11, 2022

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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’.

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.

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.

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Teenage girl killed on M5 in Somerset after getting out of police car named

Published

8 mins ago

November 15, 2024

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Teenage girl killed on M5 in Somerset after getting out of police car named

A teenage girl who was killed after getting out of a police car on the M5 in Somerset has been named.

Tamzin Hall, 17 and from Wellington, was hit by a vehicle that was travelling southbound between junction 24 for Bridgwater and junction 25 for Taunton shortly after 11pm on Monday.

She had exited a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side of the motorway while transporting her.

A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is now carrying out its own investigation into what happened.

Avon and Somerset Police said: “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss.

“A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.

“The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”

The police watchdog, the IOPC, has been asked to investigate.

In a statement, director David Ford, said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.

“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.”

Paramedics attended the motorway within minutes of the girl being hit but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The motorway was closed in both directions while investigations took place. It was fully reopened shortly after 11am on Tuesday, Nationals Highways said.

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Mohamed al Fayed’s brother Salah also abused women, say female Harrods employees

Published

8 mins ago

November 15, 2024

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Mohamed al Fayed's brother Salah also abused women, say female Harrods employees

A survivors group advocating for women allegedly assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed has said it is “grateful another abuser has been unmasked”, after allegations his brother Salah also participated in the abuse.

Justice for Harrods Survivors says it has “credible evidence” suggesting the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated at Harrods and the billionaire’s properties “was not limited to Mr al Fayed himself”.

The group’s statement comes after three women told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by al Fayed’s brother, Salah.

One woman said she was raped by Mohamed al Fayed while working at Harrods.

Helen, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she then took a job working for his brother as an escape. She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while working at Salah’s home on Park Lane, London.

Two other women have told the BBC they were taken to Monaco and the South of France, where Salah sexually abused them.

The Justice for Harrod Survivors representatives said: “We are proud to support the survivors of Salah Fayed’s abuse and are committed to achieving justice for them, no matter what it takes.”

The group added it “looks forward to the others on whom we have credible evidence – whether abusers themselves or enablers facilitating that abuse – being exposed in due course”.

Salah was one of the three Fayed brothers who co-owned Harrods.

The business, which was sold to Qatar Holdings when Mohamed al Fayed retired in 2010, has said it “supports the bravery of these women in coming forward”.

A statement issued by the famous store on Thursday evening continued: “We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate.

“We also hope that they are looking at every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be Harrods, the police or the Fayed family and estate.”

The Justice for Harrods Survivors group previously said more than 400 people had contacted them regarding accusations about Mohamed al Fayed, who died last year.

One of those alleged to have been abused is Bianca Gascoigne, the daughter of former England player Paul.

Speaking to Sky News in October, Gascoigne said she was groomed and sexually assaulted by al Fayed when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.

UK

Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman

Published

8 mins ago

November 15, 2024

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Wes Streeting 'crossed the line' by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman

Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.

Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.

MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.

But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.

He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.

Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.

“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.

“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.

“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”

Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.

She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.

“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.

The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.

Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.

The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.

MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.