King Charles III will be crowned on May 6, 2023 at Westminster Abbey in London with his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, in a forward-looking ceremony, Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday, according to AFP.

Eight months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8 at the age of 96, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will lead the religious ceremony.

73-year-old Charles III will be “anointed, blessed and consecrated” as the spiritual head of the Church of England, whose supreme ruler is the monarch.

“The coronation will reflect the monarch’s role in the present and look to the future, while building on the long-standing traditions and splendor of the monarchy,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

The ceremony, in a country currently in the midst of a serious economic and social crisis, should retain the structure of the British monarchy’s coronations of the last millennium, including modern elements.

For 900 years, the coronation of British monarchs has taken place in Westminster Abbey. Since the Norman Conquest in 1066, the ceremony has almost always been performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The event traditionally takes place in the following months after the ascension to the throne. This period allows for national and royal mourning and to organize a ceremony.

Shorter, cheaper and more representative

Elizabeth II became Queen on 6 February 1952 after the death of her father, George VI, and was crowned 16 months later on 2 June 1953.

The wedding of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip (Photo: Keystone Pictures USA / Zuma Press / Profimedia)

The ceremony was televised for the first time and was watched by 27 million Britons out of a population of 36 million at the time.

In the post-war years, it lasted more than three hours and was attended by 8,251 guests. 129 nations and territories were officially represented.

In accordance with Charles’ wishes, the ceremony was to be shorter, smaller and less expensive, but also more representative of the diversity of the modern United Kingdom.

The abbey currently holds just 2,000 people, which is how many people, including heads of state and members of the royal family, attended Elizabeth II’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19.

Her son Charles automatically became king after her death.

Queen Consort Camilla – the title Elizabeth II wanted for her son’s second wife – will also be crowned during the ceremony, the build-up to which is known as ‘Operation Golden Globe’.

Charles is the oldest king to ascend the throne in the history of the British monarchy, following the seventy-year reign of Elizabeth II, who celebrated her platinum jubilee last June.

Coronation Oath

During the ceremony, the Archbishop of Canterbury first introduces the new monarch to a cheering audience.

Then the sovereign takes the coronation oath. In this act of coronation oath, written in 1688, he undertakes to “do all possible” to preserve the Church of England and the Protestant religion.

The king, installed in the King Edward’s Chair, a wooden throne made in the 1300s and used at every coronation since 1626, will receive an anointing and blessing from the archbishop.

Afterwards, Charles III will receive his royal accoutrements, including a scepter and crown, which will be placed on his head by the Archbishop of Canterbury.