Thousands of Britons were clamoring Saturday for a glimpse of Britain’s newly crowned King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The royal couple greeted the jubilant crowds.
The royal couple was joined on the balcony by senior royals, Charles’ son and first in line to the throne, Prince William, his wife, Kate, and their children. Charles’ siblings, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, also were there.
Prince Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, a non-working royal, did not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony, though he attended his father’s coronation.
Despite a pouring rain, the Red Arrows — the Royal Air Force’s aerobatic team — flew over Buckingham Palace, leaving red, white and blue trails in the sky. The impressive military fly-past was scaled down because of wet weather. Thousands of marching military troops saluted their commander in chief on the lawn of Buckingham Palace.
Among the foreign dignitaries who attended the coronation in Westminster Abbey were U.S. first lady Jill Biden, leading the U.S. delegation. In a phone interview with the Associated Press, she described as “really surreal” the moment when King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned.
“You know, you can’t imagine that moment where you actually see the crown being placed” on their heads,” the U.S. first lady said.
Protesters gathered on Trafalgar Square, holding placards and wearing yellow t-shirts to stand out, saying, “Not My King.” According to polls, support for the monarchy is waning.
"It is disgusting and massively over the top," said Kevin John, 57, a salesman from Devon who was among the protesters. "It basically symbolizes the inequality of wealth and power in our society," said lawmaker Clive Lewis, who was among the anti-monarchy protesters.
The coronation is a weekend-long affair with many activities planned. While it is reported to be a scaled back version of what was originally planned, it is still believed to carry a multimillion-dollar price tag for British taxpayers.
The lavish affair in Westminster Abbey featured robed clergy, prayers, majestic music and the high-pitched singing voices of young boys and girls.
King Charles III's Coronation
Britain’s King Charles III was crowned Saturday, like so many of the country’s monarchs before him. The last coronation was 70 years ago when Charles’ mother, Elizabeth, was crowned.
William, the Prince of Wales and the heir to the throne, participated in the ceremony. After Charles was crowned, William knelt before his father and pledged his loyalty to him.
Charles’ crown weighed 2.2kg and was decorated with precious jewels. The crown was first used at the coronation of King Charles II in 1661.
Charles III wore another crown by the end of the coronation, which has been regularly worn by his predecessors for official occasions.
Camilla also was crowned at the ceremony. She curtsied before the king after being crowned.
Charles was the first monarch to pray aloud at his coronation. His prayer said in part: “Grant that I may be a blessing to all thy children, of every faith and belief, that together we may discover the ways of gentleness and be led into the paths of peace.”
Millions of people around the world were able to witness the coronation on television and the internet.
One of the questions on many minds was the role Charles’ son Harry, the Duke of Sussex, would have in the ceremony.
He attended the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey alone without his American wife Meghan Markle and sat two rows behind his brother, the Prince of Wales. Harry left immediately afterwards, planning a same day return to the U.S. to join his wife and attend his son’s 4th birthday.
Harry and the royal family have been on shaky ground since Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their royal duties in 2020 and have revealed uncomfortable details about tensions within the royal family in a documentary and Harry’s best-selling book Spare.
