King Charles III will be crowned in Westminster Abbey. Photo / Alastair Grant
King Charles III will be crowned in Westminster Abbey. Photo / Alastair Grant
Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and that’s because heavy is the crown. The Coronation one, St Edward’s Crown, weighs over two kilograms. Named for Edward the Confessor, it’s only worn for coronations and was last worn by Elizabeth II in 1953. She said it could break yourneck. It’s about to descend on King Charles’ noble brow, but not before he makes it through a tradition-bound ceremony full of arcane ritual, secret meanings, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Let us be your somewhat accurate guide to the mysteries of the coronation of Charles III.
The crown’s instantly recognisable form, all purple velvet, ermine, gold and jewels, is not quite the same as Edward’s 1042CE original. That was described as “gold wire-work set with slight stones and two little bells” which sounds nice, like a collar for a cat you’re particularly fond of. Unfortunately, the monarchy was something Oliver Cromwell wasn’t particularly fond of, and the original crown was probably melted down sometime in the 1600s. Sadly, there’s no word on the fate of the two little bells.
The Imperial State Crown - of the Crown Jewels. Photo / Getty
In 1660 a new St Edward’s crown was commissioned, along with a great deal of the current coronation regalia, to crown King Charles II for the Restoration of the monarchy. After an exciting flurry of coronations in the next decade, it was put in the care of a 77-year-old at the Tower of London whose job it was to take it out of a cupboard to show visitors for a small fee. After it was inevitably stolen and less inevitably bashed flat with a mallet, they decided to employ armed guards instead, a tradition that continues to this day.
In 1902 Edward VII decided to revive the tradition of using St Edward’s Crown for his coronation, but he didn’t feel well on the day and sensibly wore the lighter Imperial State Crown instead. The jewels in St Edward’s crown were hired and removed after the coronation, which is not as bougie as we might expect from the Royals. In 1911 they splurged for a permanent set, also not as flash as you’d imagine: it’s mostly aquamarines, with the occasional jargoon (what?), spinels (pardon?) and a carbuncle (gross).
By contrast the Imperial State Crown (only 1kg) has a 317 Carat diamond stuck to the front, which is nuclear-level bling. The diamond (the Royal Family’s third-best one) weighs 6 per cent of the Imperial State Crown’s total weight. If you can say the same about any of your hats you must be popular down at Michael Hill. You’ll see the Imperial State Crown after the ceremony when Charles casually wears it home, the coronial equivalent of a comfy pair of slippers after kicking off his party heels.
Before he’s beaned with the ceremonial Beanie, due process must ensue. The coronation begins with The King’s Procession into Westminster Abbey. Five swords go first, carried by peers. There’s the Sword of State symbolising Royal authority. Then, unsheathed and pointing upwards (we get it, guys), the Sword of Spiritual Justice, the Sword of Temporal Justice and the blunted Sword of Mercy. The swords represent Charles’ new role as head of the British Armed Forces (Temporal) and Defender of the Faith (Spiritual). The Sword of Mercy represents (spoiler alert) his mercy. The fifth sword, the Jewelled Sword of Offering, is the fancy one. It has a steel blade for everyday swording, but it’s set in gold and studded with jewels in the shapes of a rose, a shamrock, a thistle, oak leaves, acorns and, why not, lions’ heads. The Archbishop of Canterbury will bless it and give it to Charles to be used for the protection of good and the punishment of evil and the elegance of accessorising.
Prince Charles with his Aunt, Princess Margaret (r) and his Grandmother, Elizabeth the Queen Mother, at the 1953 Coronation of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Photo / Getty
Then another weapon of medieval knights, the Mace. It represents, in a fairly solid way, the monarch’s authority. Made of silver-gilt and weighing 10kg, expect the fittest peer to lug this down the aisle. St Edward’s Staff, a large gold walking stick, will be brought into the Abbey as a holy relic and laid on the altar, where it will stay until the end like an awkward party guest because no one can remember what it’s for. Its intended role in the ceremony has been forgotten since medieval times, but they don’t like to uninvite the stick in case it turns out to be important.
Once everyone and everything has processed into Westminster Abbey, the Archbishop of Canterbury will present Charles to the congregation, who will reply with “God Save the King!” Charles will swear an oath to uphold the law and the Church of England. So far, so straightforward.
We come now to rituals that traditionally have been shrouded in mystery. This will be the first time the Anointing, the most sacred part of the coronation ceremony, is done publicly. It’s usually done in a sort of tent, hiding it from the congregation. Charles has agreed to a new transparent tent, open at the top to allow cameras to show the process. The oil for the anointing was consecrated earlier this year at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (which contains the site of the crucifixion and tomb of Jesus) by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem. This is serious name-brand single-origin Holy Oil.
The Old Testament describes the anointing of King Solomon by Zadok the Priest; probably not coincidentally, one of the pieces of coronation music selected by Charles is Handel’s Zadok the Priest, composed for King George II’s coronation in 1727. A perfect choice, but then he’s also commissioned a new Coronation Anthem from Andrew Lloyd Webber so, swings and roundabouts.
The Archbishop will pour holy oil from the Ampulla into the Anointing Spoon, then anoint Charles’ head, hands and breast. Now, if you liked medieval walking sticks, you’re going to love the Spoon. It’s almost a thousand years old. Its bowl is divided in two and no one is sure why. It’s ornately decorated with monster heads and according to the Royal Collections Trust, it “terminates in a flattened knop”. Don’t we all.
The Ampulla is a golden eagle. They’ll unscrew the head and pour oil from its beak into the spoon, because a 14th Century legend describes the Virgin Mary appearing to Thomas a Becket and giving him a golden eagle and a vial of oil to anoint future English Kings. No mention of a giant spoon, but if you’ve got it, flaunt it.
Charles will be seated in St Edward’s Chair, a carved oak Gothic-style chair made around 1300. There used to be a painting of a king on the back, possibly Edward, putting his feet up on a lion - a vision of Royal relaxation now sadly lost to time. The chair has formerly been gilded, had decorations nailed to it, been bombed by suffragettes, painted brown for Queen Victoria, and used to house the Stone of Scone. The stone was returned to Scotland in 1996 and will be brought from Edinburgh Castle for Charles’ coronation. No word yet on whether they’re bringing in a lion for an ottoman.
Symbols of Knightly Virtue will be anointed and presented to the King to emphasize the chivalric nature of Kingship, including the swords, a ring, golden bracelets and excitingly, spurs, followed by the Sovereign’s Orb, a jewelled cross mounted on a golden sphere. The Orb (or if you want to impress your friends, his Globus Cruciger) represents the Christian world.
Finally he’s given the Sovereign’s Sceptre and Rod, again referencing dual authority over the Spiritual and Temporal realms. The Rod is topped with a white dove symbolizing the Holy Ghost and represents a shepherd’s rod guiding his flock. The Sceptre is topped with the Great Star of Africa, the largest clear-cut diamond in the world, and represents owning really big diamonds.
The Sovereign's Orb and Sovereign's Sceptre, royal regalia used in British coronations. Photo / Getty
While Charles grips the Rod and Sceptre upright in either hand like a man about to make the world’s most lavish ski jump which, in a way, he is, St Edward’s Crown will be placed on the Royal head, and 10 centuries of tradition will add to the weight of gold and jargoons. A million retweets of the new Coronation Crown Twitter emoji will flutter out, and King Charles will leave Westminster Abbey for the procession back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach. Completed in 1762 at a cost of over four million pounds in today’s money, it’s been used for the coronation of every British monarch since 1831. It weighs four tons, is tricky on the corners, and is decorated with gilded dolphins, scallop shells and a Triton (aggressive Merman) at each corner, symbolizing Britain’s dominance over the oceans.
The Gold State Coach, being what they call in Royal parlance “a bit of a clunker”, will only be used for the trip back to Buckingham Palace. On the way to Westminster Abbey Charles and Camilla will be using the Australian-made Diamond Jubilee State Coach, which has air conditioning, shock absorbers and electric windows. This is a new monarchy riding into town, carrying all its heavy, golden, thousand-year-old traditions in modern comfort and listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber. God Save the King.
