Charles to be crowned King in thousand-year-old Coronation ceremony

Charles will be crowned the King of the United Kingdom amid spectacular pomp and pageantry at Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday in a solemn religious ceremony that dates back almost a thousand yearsWestminster Abbey has been the site of every British Coronation since that of William The Conqueror in 1066 and King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla will follow in the footsteps of this grand tradition in a service themed Called to ServeThe Service will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby with faith leaders and representatives of the Hindu Sikh Muslim Buddhist and Jewish communities processing through the Abbey ahead of the serviceIn the Abbey where monarchs have been crowned for almost a thousand years representatives of every faith will play a central role for the first time said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the eve of the CoronationAs the countrys first Hindu head of government the 42yearold will read from the biblical book Colossians 1917 a passage chosen by the Archbishop to reflect the theme of service to othersAlso Read Indian charity champions to join royals world leaders at King Charles IIIs CoronationFollowing a regal procession riding in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach bearing a gilded crown the King and Queen will make their way to the Abbey from Buckingham Palace accompanied by military personnel on foot and on horsebackThe streets of central London will be lined with thousands of wellwishers waving flags alongside some groups of protesters who campaign for the abolition of the monarchy and have organised NotMyKing protests at Trafalgar SquareOnce at the Abbey the King will be greeted by a congregation of around 2200 made up of heads of state and government worldwide royalty as well as community championsVicePresident Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife Dr Sudeep Dhankhar are representing India on the historic occasion and will be seated alongside other Commonwealth Heads of StateThe crowning of the Sovereign is an ancient ceremony rich in religious significance history and pageantry The service is deeply sacred and traditional while reflecting the monarchs role today and looking towards the future the palace saidThe King and Queen will arrive at the Chairs of Estate in the Coronation Theatre and will have a personal moment of silent prayer as did his late mother Queen Elizabeth II during her Coronation in 1953The religious ceremony will be made up of five key stages the Recognition the Oath the Anointing the Investiture and Crowning and the Enthronement and HomageThe Imperial State Crown or Crown of State is the crown the monarch exchanges for St Edwards Crown at the end of the Coronation Service The Imperial State Crown is also used on ceremonial occasions such as the State Opening of Parliament the palace saidQueen Camilla will wear Queen Marys crown which was designed for the coronation of June 1911 when it contained three large diamonds including the controversial Kohinoor which was later replaced by crystal replicasThe modern version designed for 75yearold Camilla is minus the Kohinoor and made of a silver frame lined with gold and set with 2200 diamonds mainly brilliantcut with some rosecutWhile she will be anointed with holy oil in full public view Charles will be anointed behind a cloth screen depicting a central design of a tree with branches filled with 56 leaves representing the Commonwealth of nations including one of the leaves dedicated to IndiaThe holy Chrism oil consecrated at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem will be symbolically touched on the monarchs head chest and hands as part of the religious ceremonyAmong others of Indian heritage in the gathering will be Bansari Ruparelia a British Empire Medal BEM winner in recognition of her services to the communityWorking on a volunteer basis she provides support and care to people experiencing social isolation an issue which she believes has become more widely acknowledged and recognised in the aftermath of the COVID19 pandemic the palace saidAnother BEM winner British Indian chef Manju Malhi will join the likes of Sourabh Phadke a graduate of the Princes Foundation set up in Dumfries House Scotland by Charles as the Prince of Wales with a vision to provide holistic solutions to challenges facing the world Gulfsha winner of the Princes Trust Global Award and Indianorigin Jay Patel of Princes Trust Canada are also among the selected inviteesThe twohourlong ceremony at the Abbey will conclude with the chiming of Abbey bells and the newly crowned King and Queen making their way to another waiting horsedrawn historic Gold State Coach Last seen during the Pageant of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in June 2022 and used at every Coronation since that of William IV in 1831This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever