King Charles III Coronation Date Set by Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace has set the date for King Charles III‘s coronation. The ceremony is set for Saturday, May 6, 2023 at Westminster Abbey in London.
The coronation comes eight months after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on September 8 and her funeral on September 19.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will conduct the ceremony, which is largely symbolic, as Charles has already begun his reign. Camilla Parker Bowles will be crowned alongside Charles on May 6. Her official title is now Queen Consort. May 6 is also the fourth birthday of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s son, Archie.
Buckingham Palace confirmed the date in a statement and said the coronation will “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry,” per BBC.
Charles became king when his mother died, and his accession was officially proclaimed in the first-ever televised Accession Ceremony two days later on September 10. The short ceremony took place in Buckingham Palace’s throne room and was comprised of the monarch reading written statements aloud before signing them.
It’s typical for several months to pass between the accession and the coronation. Elizabeth became monarch at the age of 25 on February 6, 1952, the day of her father, King George VI’s, death. Her coronation took place nine months later on June 2, 1953.
Charles coronation will reportedly be shorter than Elizabeth’s three-hour event, though still with all the expected pageantry and outdoor processions through London. BBC reports it will be more diverse and have a smaller number of guests. Charles’ crowning will be the main event of the day, but Camilla will also get her own special (and shorter) crowning ceremony.
Per tradition, Charles will likely sit in the 14th-Century King Edward’s Chair during the ceremony and be crowned with the solid gold 17th-Century St Edward’s Crown. He will also be given an orb, scepter, and ring to hold, followed by the procession in the horse-drawn Gold State Coach.
Westminster Abbey has hosted coronations for the English monarchs for over 900 years. The king was 4 years old at Elizabeth’s coronation.
