Coronation Of King Charles And Queen Camilla Review

 The Coronation Of King Charles III and Queen Camilla was held on the 6th May 2023 at Westminster Abbey. 

It was the first coronation since 1953 when his mother Queen Elizabeth II was crowned. The coronation is held in a modern time with technology such as mobile phones, tablets and new age cameras. 

Queen Elizabeth II passed away on the 8th September 2022 after a long time with mobility issues. The moment she passed away her eldest son Charles became king at the age of 74 and his wife Camilla became Queen Consort. 

After the mourning period was over by October they started planning for the coronation. It was called operation golden orb where the plans were in action. 

In the documentary Charles III: The Coronation Year they went into detail about what happened behind the scenes like the rehearsals, the making of the regalia such as the crowns and the outfits like Camilla's gown. 

Queen Camilla's gown was designed by Bruce Oldfield. The gown was embroidered with her two dogs Beth and Bluebell who are Jack Russell terriers, floral designs of their favourite flowers and names of her grandchildren. Her crown was a re-wear that was the Queen Mary crown, she had it resized to fit her head. In 2025 the crown was renamed as the Queen Camilla crown. 

King Charles III had more regalia than his wife, which was in the list below:

• The St Edward's Crown- The St Edward's Crown is the crown that the monarch is crowned with during the service after the anointing. The crown in 1661 was refurbished by King Charles II after it was melted down by Oliver Cromwell who abolished the monarchy and beheaded Charles I in 1649. This particular crown is only worn once. 
• The Imperial State Crown- This crown is one of the newest coronation regalia as it was commissioned for the coronation of King George VI on the 12th May 1937. This crown is often used at the end of the coronation in an exchange for the St Edward's Crown which is a lot heavier in weight. The monarch also wears this crown when opening parliament. 
• The Sovereign's Orb- The Sovereign's Orb is a representation of christian power and symbolising the christian world. The Sovereign's Orb was made from gold from the 17th century and is divided into three sections with bands of jewels, for each of the three continents known in the medieval period. 
• The Anointing Oil and Spoon- The anointing spoon is the oldest piece in the coronation regalia. The oil and spoon is probably the most sacred and private moment for the sovereign in the coronation. This is the moment when the sovereign it signifies the relationship between sovereign and god. 

There were loads of rehearsals in the lead up to the ceremony as everything needed to go completely to plan, There were some rehearsals in Westminster Abbey and some in Buckingham Palace as in the palace they made the ballroom into a rehearsal room. They involved all who had a part in the ceremony including Charles and Camilla who attended most of them as considering it was their day when they were crowned as King and Queen. 

The ceremony went really well. Charles and Camilla both looked understandably very nervous but after months of practice the day went off perfectly. My favourite bit had to have been the bit when Queen Camilla was crowned and when she curtsied to her king and the face he gave showed how proud he was of his Queen. 

There were homages to The King including one from Justin Welby The Archbishop Of Canterbury and Prince William The Prince Of Wales who pledged allegiance to the new King. Charles was very very emotional and moved during that part and the whole ceremony. 

I think people forget that sometimes the only reason why the monarch has a coronation is becuase their monarch parent has died in order to get this far. However a coronation only happens in the UK as other European monarchies don't have proper coronations. They only have sworn in monarchs into power like with the recent King Fredrik X and Queen Mary after his mother Queen Margrethe of Denmark abdicated in January 2024. 

The music composed in this particular coronation was the usual music like Zadok The Priest and I Was Glad just to name a few. There were a few new pieces that were commissioned for this coronation including Make A Joyful Noise written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, O Clap Your Hands written by Debbie Wiseman, The King Charles III Coronation March written by Patrick Doyle and Sacred Fire written by Sarah Class just to name a few. The coronation ceremony including the music are on an album that you can by or listen to online on the streaming platforms. 

In the procession The King had 4 pages of honour including his eldest grandson Prince George Of Wales. Queen also had 4 pages of honour which included her grandsons and great nephew, In this coronation it focused on family and how the family were involved in the ceremony. It also reflects that this is a modern coronation because we have a mixed family involved in the coronation. The King's little sister Princess Anne was also a gold stick in waiting which is basically a special security guard for The King as they processed back to Buckingham Palace in the gold state couch. 

When The King was anointed he was anointed behind a screen as it is the most sacred part of the ceremony and he strips to very minimal clothing and the oil is placed on his forehead and chest. This signifies the relationship between God and King in that very personal moment. While he was being anointed the piece of music Zadok The Priest was played in the background. When The Queen was anointed this was out in the open as it wasn't as sacred as The Kings. 

As The King was crowned with the St Edward's Crown the Archbishop Of Canterbury placed the crown on his head at exactly 12pm the signal was set to set off gun salutes to signify that the King has been crowned. Every year on the 6th May at 12pm there will be gun salutes to signify the moment The King was crowned. Queen Camilla was also crowned with the Queen Mary Crown in a separate ceremony after The King. 

When they left Westminster Abbey the national anthem was played as the king appeared with the Imperial State Crown, Orb and Sceptre with the queen following behind him. He then at the entrance of the abbey he received prayers from the different faiths. 

They then got into The State Golden Coach and made their way back to Buckingham Palace followed by thousands of Military personnel parading with the procession. They then entered Buckingham Palace and the military went to the Palace gardens where they waited for the king and queen to appear. They then appeared in front of the thousand military personnel where they gave the king and queen 3 cheers and a salute.

They then went onto the balcony and faced millions and millions of people not only in London but in front of people around the world on TV. They then watched a flypast that was very limited due to poor weather but there were a few helicopters and the red arrows. The crowd then cheered them and sang God Save The King. The King and Queen were very moved by the whole occasion. 

The next day there was a concert for The King and Queen where it was a time to look back at all of their achievements and to listen to some music from Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Take That just to name a few. The next day was volunteering The King and Queen encouraged people to do some volunteer work for the nation, it was also the day where people were invited to join in for a Big Lunch which Queen Camilla is a patron of. 

The King and Queen very rightly had a few weeks to recover from the festivities by going to Scotland to have a break. 

In May 2025 It was announced that the state portraits will soon to be released marking the 2nd Anniversary of their coronation, painting are also released to mark the occasion too.