Her supporters british monarchy and foreign dignitaries flocked to London for his coronation. Charles III which will take place tomorrow, Saturday, with a magnificent ceremony unparalleled in Europe.

The coronation ceremony has not been held in the UK for 70 years. Eight months after taking the throne following the death of Elizabeth II, the 74-year-old monarch, accompanied by 75-year-old Queen Camilla, will be crowned and anointed in Westminster Abbey in front of 2,300 guests and, of course, hundreds of millions of television viewers.

Although the preparations for the ceremony were carried out without much fanfare in the United Kingdom, which is going through a complete crisis due to the rising cost of living, the most ardent fans of the royal family sometimes settled near Buckingham Palace for a week to be on the first series.

Foreign guests are arriving in London, and today a reception is organized in their honor.

The final details were finalized during rehearsals for the parades and the ceremony itself, which will start at 13:00 (Greek time) and last for two hours.

Everything is fine-tuned to the millimeter in this ritual based on nearly 1,000 years of history, with diamond-studded crowns, velvet robes and gold sceptres, but witnessed by few Britons in their lifetime, like the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953.

“It will be a historic moment and an extraordinary spectacle,” says 81-year-old Margaret Tinsley, whom AFP met outside Buckingham Palace. “It’s something we never knew.”

Retiree Lynn Fowler, however, says the atmosphere is far less festive than last year’s Queen Elizabeth II 70th birthday celebrations: “There was more excitement, it was more exciting, now I’m a little disappointed.”

Crowns and carriages

The head of the Protestant Anglican Church, Charles, will take the royal oath and receive confirmation from the Archbishop of Canterbury. He will then be crowned St. Edward’s Crown.

Queen Camilla, Charles’ second wife after his divorce from Princess Diana, will also be crowned.

Accompanied by nearly 4,000 troops, the royal couple will then travel to Buckingham Palace, where active members of the monarchy will greet the crowd from the famous balcony.

Charles’ youngest son, Harry, will be at the abbey without his wife Meghan and their two children. He is expected to be absent from the summit unless there is some move towards reconciliation between the family and the prince, who has been in exile in California since 2020 and has made accusations against the royal family, especially his brother William and his stepmother Camilla.

Questions about the future

“This is a moment of great national pride,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. “This is an expression of our national character and an opportunity for us to look to the future in a spirit of service, hope and unity.”

Charles sought to change the coronation ceremony to be shorter than his mother’s, and also invited dignitaries from non-Christian religions.

Much has been done to get the public involved in the three-day festivities, which continue on Sunday with neighborhood dinners and a concert at Windsor Castle, with Monday being a public holiday. Charles and Camilla even recorded an announcement to be broadcast on the London Underground that includes the famous “Beware of the Gap,” a message heard over wires warning passengers of a gap between the carriages and the quay.

But Charles III remains less popular than his heir William, who is already active in public affairs and was in the public with his wife Kate at a pub in London’s Soho yesterday Thursday. In addition, many Britons are thinking about something else, mainly about inflation, which has been over 10% for several months now.

The coronation also provided an opportunity to reopen the debate about the future of the monarchy. Each faction takes what is convenient for them from the various opinion polls taken on the subject: the institution is still supported by a large majority of Britons, but that support is receding, especially among young people.

While they were almost invisible under Elizabeth II, anti-monarchists are calling for a demonstration tomorrow, Saturday, in London, where more than 11,000 police officers will be involved.

Outside the UK, in the 14 other countries where Charles III is head of state, the atmosphere is mostly frosty.

Belize and Jamaica have said they want to become democracies quickly, as Barbados did in 2021. “Many Jamaicans had warm feelings for Queen Elizabeth II,” Minister Marlene Malach Forte explained. “But they don’t identify with King Charles.”

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}