On May 6, Charles III will be officially crowned King of England during a majestic ceremony at Westminster Abbey that will immerse us in a real medieval tapestry, with its secular rites and sacred objects. The ceremony should be shorter, but it will keep all its majesty.
Small digest to better understand all the secrets and symbols.
When Buckingham Palace did not yet exist, kings lived in Westminster Palace. And the day before the coronation, they slept there, just before going to the nearby abbey for the ceremony... From this tradition, there remains a ceremonial bedroom and a very imposing four-poster bed in the enclosure of the Parliament, available to the monarch. A solid piece of furniture all in walnut, three meters high, more than two meters wide, with hangings and gilded inlays. The bed was lost during the Second World War, then recovered at auction for £100 by a couple who used it for more than fifteen years… before finally being identified and bought by the State in the 1980s. Charles III was informed that his state bed was waiting for him: "Interesting", he replied simply.
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An essential element of decorum, the Westminster Throne – also known as King Edward's Chair – has been used by virtually every ruler of England for over 700 years. Made of oak, originally covered in gold leaf, it rests on four sculpted lions and includes a cavity under the seat to hold the Stone of Scone, the sandstone block used as a pedestal for the coronations of the ancient kings of Scotland. The chair has suffered many vicissitudes in its history: it has been covered in graffiti by visitors – you could sit on it in the 18th century for a tip – and the suffragettes damaged it in 1914… It has just been the subject of of a new renovation for the big day.
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The anointing takes place before the actual coronation with a perfumed and sanctified oil which symbolizes the sanctity of the king's body: the Archbishop of Canterbury affixes drops of holy chrism by making a sign of the cross on the head, heart and the palms of the monarch to signify that he derives his authority from God. According to the British press, the formula was reconstituted by a pharmacist and former pastor from the city of Hull who spent months finding the ingredients according to a secret recipe, but which includes amber, orange blossom essential oils (cinnamon, neroli, benzoin, rose and jasmine) and especially olive oil, directly from the Garden of Olives. The holy chrism was recently blessed in Jerusalem by the city's Anglican archbishop and Orthodox patriarch Theophilus III, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christians venerate the tomb of Christ who, according to tradition, was buried before to resuscitate.
At The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Chrism oil which will be used to anoint The King at the Coronation in May has been consecrated by The Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem. [1/3] pic.twitter.com/oKn88FpEdh
The sovereign should wear several outfits loaded with symbols during the ceremony. For the anointing, he is stripped of his ceremonial garments for a white linen chasuble, the Colobium sindonis, or shroud tunic, which recalls his mortal condition, naked and humble before God to be purified. Then he will put on the Supertunica, a long-sleeved golden silk coat inspired by Byzantine outfits, with a stole over the shoulders, like priests, to emphasize the divine nature of royalty and the ruler's role as head of the Church.
Finally, over these two garments is added the Imperial Coat, a large cope bearing the symbols of the United Kingdom, English rose, Scottish thistle, Irish shamrock. It is thus dressed, in gold and embroidery, that he receives the regalia, namely the sacred insignia of power.
Once seated in the coronation chair, Charles III is presented with the Sword of State, which symbolizes royal authority. Then the cruciger orb, divided by bands of precious stones, which we could see recently on the coffin of Elizabeth II. The sphere, surmounted by the cross of Christ, represents the Christian world subject to divine authority, of which the sovereign is the guarantor. Finally the two sceptres: the one with the dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit, to recall the royal mercy; and the one on the cross, with the enormous Cullinan I diamond, which represents the power of the sovereign, who also wears during the ceremony the coronation ring, a sapphire set with diamonds.
The main piece of the Crown Jewels, it is worn only by kings on the day of their coronation, and then returns to the Tower of London. It is a copy of the crown of Edward the Confessor, Saxon king of the 11th century, which was destroyed by Cromwell and then reconstituted in 1661 by a goldsmith on the orders of Charles II. In solid gold, it weighs more than two kilos and is made up of pattée crosses and fleur-de-lis, all enhanced by more than 400 precious stones.
Charles III is then expected to wear the Imperial State Crown, known to have been regularly used by Elizabeth II when opening Parliament. A magnificent finery composed of more than 2,800 diamonds, 270 pearls, sapphires, emeralds and several rubies including that of the Black Prince.
