There were many questions leading up to King Charles III‘s coronation including if Prince Harry would be there, how the affair would be scaled down compared to the late Queen Elizabeth II‘s, and what kind of reception the public would have to the first coronation in 70 years.
The ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey on May 6, 2023, with the Duke of Sussex in attendance. It was a much more toned-down event than Charles’ mother’s was and the king’s major fear was a non-issue. Here’s what Charles told his friend ahead of the coronation that turned out to be wrong.
What King Charles feared about his coronation
Queen Elizabeth’s coronation was held on June 2, 1953. Like her son’s it was at Westminster Abbey and was televised. However, the late monarch had 8,000 guests in attendance, Charles had 2,000. The queen also had Prince Philip, as well as other royal princes, and five senior peers page homage to her. The king had just Prince William swear his allegiance reciting: “I, William, Prince of Wales, pledge my loyalty to you and faith and truth I will bear unto you, as your liege man of life and limb. So help me God.”
Charles was at his mother’s coronation. He was just 4 years old at the time but has been reminded over the years how much support she had as thousands of well-wishers lined the streets the day she was officially crowned.
According to Daily Mail royal expert Richard Kay, before his own coronation Charles compared his mother’s to what his would be like and referred to the support she got from the public that day telling a friend: “Of course, they’ll never do that for me.”
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But as Kay noted, Charles turned out to be wrong. Royal fans camped out for days in hopes of catching of glimpse of the monarch and thousands of well-wishers did fill the streets of London on May 6.
The ceremony was followed by an anticipated balcony appearance
Following the coronation ceremony, crowds were treated to a balcony appearance by the royals.
The new king looked much more relaxed than he did earlier in the day as he smiled and waved to adoring fans below.
On the balcony with him stood the working members of the royal family including Queen Camilla (formerly Camilla Parker Bowles), the Prince of Wales and Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton), their three children, Charles’ brother Prince Edward and his wife the Duchess of Edinburgh (formerly Sophie, Countess of Wessex), as well as Princess Anne and her husband Timothy Laurence.
Coronation celebrations continued throughout the weekend with a special concert at Windsor Castle in which Charles and his family were seen dancing the night away with performances by Lionel Richie and Katy Perry to name a few.
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