Buckingham Palace has confirmed that King Charles III’s coronation will occur on Saturday, May 6, at Westminster Abbey.
Camilla, the Queen Consort, will be crowned alongside the King in the historic ceremony.
King Charles ascended to the throne when his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, died, but the coronation will be a symbolic celebration of his new rule.
The King will be anointed as sovereign and crowned with tremendous grandeur and ceremonial.
The coronation next year will be the first in over 70 years – the last was for Elizabeth II in June 1953 – and the first on a Saturday since Edward VII in 1902.
It is unclear whether an additional bank holiday would be added or relocated to the coronation weekend, with a bank holiday already set for earlier that week on Monday, May 1.
Buckingham Palace has hinted that the ceremony would be both old and modern, stating that it will be “rooted in longstanding traditions” and “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future”.
Camilla, the Queen Consort, will be crowned as part of the service in a ceremony comparable to but simpler than the King’s.
King Charles will be 74 when he is crowned, making him the oldest monarch ever. It will also be the fourth birthday of his grandson Archie, Prince Harry and Meghan’s firstborn.
Coronations have been conducted in Westminster Abbey in London for almost 900 years, with the old cathedral as the backdrop for a ritual combining religious and constitutional symbolism.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will preside during King Charles’ anointing, blessing, and consecration.
The coronation service for Elizabeth II lasted over three hours. Still, royal insiders say the celebration next year will be shorter, more diversified, and with a considerably lower number of visitors.
Temporary stands were erected inside the Abbey in 1953 to accommodate 8,000 visitors. However, the Abbey’s present capacity is about 2,200, likely to be the maximum for next year.
At four, Prince Charles was among the visitors observing his mother’s coronation.
Attention will be devoted to how he can modify the ritual for his coronation, such as the phrasing of his oath or if the service would include a multi-faith component.
Many rites have been a part of the celebration for generations, and it is recognized that the “fundamental aspects” would be kept while embracing the “spirit of our times.”
Monarchs are usually seated in the 14th-century King Edward’s Chair and crowned with the 17th-century solid gold St Edward’s Crown.
They are given regal symbols such as an orb, sceptre, and ring, and if prior coronations are followed, there will be a parade around the capital led by the horse-drawn Gold State Coach.
The newly-crowned monarch customarily appears on the balcony of Buckingham Palace later that day.
“Coronations, like all rituals, are tailored to fit the times,” says royal historian Robert Lacey.
He anticipates that next year’s coronation will be shorter and less in scope than in 1953 and that a broader diversity of religions will be represented.
According to him, there must also be aware to the cost-of-living difficulties that many people face.
“King Charles has a very difficult balancing act. What to keep, what to abolish, what to alter in a modern way,” says Mr Lacey.
With more than 20 million people in the UK watching the service for the first time, Elizabeth II’s coronation proved a watershed moment for television viewership for major events.
For King Charles III’s coronation, possible global television viewership of hundreds of millions might be predicted.