A Historic Event With A Few Twists And Turns
With less than three weeks to go before what is often referred to as ‘the spectacle Britain hasn’t seen in 70 years’, we are finally getting the last missing details of the much-anticipated event. Now we know that Prince Harry is coming, but alone, that the procession route will be shorter than that of the late Queen, and (coronation) quiche is the new (coronation) chicken.
What has intrigued me throughout the months of preparation is how different this coronation will be from the previous ones. Especially as all news channels kept feeding us the same old lines that it will be rooted in a longstanding tradition, while also adapting to the modern world.
To learn what aspects of the ancient ceremony could or would be adapted, we had to wait months, but finally, here they are. Below you will find part 1 of the first comprehensive list of the ‘twists and turns’ together with some background intel and some details that show a human-side to the story.
Royal Coronation Commute (Journey from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey and back)
Contrary to the tradition of the past 192 years, the King and his Queen will not use the same Gold State Coach for both processions. The coach they will travel to the Abbey will be the Diamond Jubilee State Coach. It is the newest piece in the royal fleet of horse-drawn coaches, created in Australia and especially for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to mark her long reign. It is not only the newest, but the most modern addition and combines traditional design with the latest technology, such as air conditioning, heating, electric windows and, most importantly, up-to-date hydraulic suspension to prevent the central section from swaying. All are very important if one has to travel at a slow pace with a 2.3 lb (1.06 kg) crown on their head on a day that could be surprisingly hot or cold.
The coach they will travel back from the Abbey will be the Gold State Coach. In sharp contrast to the Diamond Jubilee coach, this is the most senior and least comfortable item in the royal road transport collection. It has been used for grand state occasions since its completion in 1762 and has served as the default procession vehicle for monarchs on their coronation day since 1831. Much to their discomfort, as we know from their recollections. King William IV, who served in the Royal Navy, likened his experience in 1831 to be in a ship ‘tossing in a rough sea’, while King George VI, Charles’s grandfather said it was ‘one of the most uncomfortable rides’ in his life.
Perhaps that is why King Charles has decided to break from tradition and limit the use of the Gold State Coach to the 1.3-mile (2,1 km) return journey. The magnificent, but famously bumpy coach is far from ideal to transport the 74-year- old monarch, who, just like many of his contemporaries, has been reported to suffer from back pain from time to time. As no official explanation has been offered by the royal press office, the real reason remains unknown. (Perhaps Prince Harry will publish a second tell-all memoir next year and then we will learn.)
The Length Of The Ceremony – Just A Half-Marathon
King Charles’s coronation ceremony (the part taking place in Westminster Abbey) has been cut down to 90 minutes, in contrast to those of his predecessors, taking several hours. Perhaps the King who attended his mother’s coronation aged 4 still remembers how unbelievably long it was? According to the official website of The Royal Family, the Queen’s Coronation service lasted almost three hours!
I’m sure, the guests will not mind a shorter service as they are typically requested to arrive well before the ceremony starts, so for them, it de facto starts much earlier. For the coronation of Charles II in 1661 guests arrived from 4 am, as we know from the brilliant, 17th-century diarist, Samuel Pepys, who sat ‘with a great deal of patience’ ‘from past 4 till 11 before the King came in.’
Things did not change much in the following centuries and it was not uncommon for invitees to bring some food and drinks into the Abbey to keep them going. This explains how some of the congregation could begin to eat a meal during the sermon at the coronation service of King George III and his Consort Queen Charlotte in 1761. It sounds shockingly rude today, but is a little more understandable if we consider that their service lasted for six(!) hours and commenced after a delayed arrival at Westminster Abbey.
In 1953 guests at the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation ceremony behaved much better, and did not start eating mid-service. However, hard evidence was found that some peers and peeresses brought and consumed their special ‘water of life’ at some point inside the Abbey, as they left the floor littered with miniature gin and whiskey bottles. The fact that they were confined to their seats for 5-6 hours after arrival, may not make their actions forgivable, but certainly more understandable.
The Guest List – Lots Of Newcomers
In a historic break with 900 years of royal protocol, foreign monarchs and royalty have been invited to the King’s coronation. Previously, the coronation of the British monarchs was regarded as a private and national affair, an exchange between the sovereign and the subjects in the house and presence of God, thus the invitation of other crowned heads was out of the question. A great number of foreign royals have already confirmed their attendance, making the 2023 coronation a unique, never-before-seen gathering of royal heads.
The following kings and queens, princes and princesses are expected to witness the historic event:
- King Carl XVI Gustaf and his daughter, Crown Princess Victoria from SwedenKing Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
- King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium
- King Felipe and Queen Letizia from Spain
- King Tuheitia and his wife, Makau Ariki Atawhai, from New Zealand
- Queen Anne-Marie, Crown Prince Pavlos, and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal from Greece
- Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco
- Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit from Norway
- Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary from Denmark
- Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa from Luxembourg
- Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko of Japan
- Margareta, the Custodian of the Crown of Romania, and her husband Prince Radu
Apart from widening the guest list to include royalty from around the world, another significant change is that not all dukes have been invited to witness His Majesty’s coronation in person, despite their rank being the highest in the British peerage system. Similarly, several aristocrats have been left off the guest list due to a lack of seats, just like former royal ‘relatives’, for example, the Duchess of York, ex-wife of the disgraced Prince Andrew. She’s allegedly happy to be left at home tending the late Queen’s corgis instead.
Representatives of 850 communities and charities have been luckier though as they will be given the chance to see King Charles and Queen Camilla being crowned, a nice, rather thoughtful gesture given the fact that the King built Britain’s widest-ranging professional charitable empire during his years as Prince of Wales and is still Patron or President of more than 400 organisations. Meritocracy over aristocracy we could say.
The Dress Code
Another equally significant break with tradition is loosening up the dress code.
Both the Peerage (the dukes, marquesses, viscounts, barons) and members of Parliament have been advised not to wear their traditional fur-lined, scarlet velvet robes, but to put on business attire, or their regular parliamentary robes. Naturally, coronets are to be left at home too. (It remains to be seen if someone may accidentally bring it along or make some fashion faux pas.)
Attendees in the military may opt for their uniforms (after all that is what the king will probably be wearing), or a morning suit to keep the event ‘simple, but elegant’. As for female guests, they can don day dresses instead of long gowns, possibly with hats, so expect a scene out of Ascot in Westminster Abbey, but without the horses.
Changing the dress code is the aspect of the upcoming coronation where one can see the royal effort of having a scaled-back event, one which reflects modern and challenging times. Or, perhaps we are completely misguided, and dressing down has nothing to do with being modest. The King simply wanted to make sure his coronation will not turn into a comic piece and wanted to prevent peers from smuggling a stash of goodies into the Abbey.
As the late Queen revealed in an interview about her coronation, many peers had hidden sandwiches in their coronets in preparation for the three-hour ceremony, and as they were putting the coronets on, the sandwiches fell out. Similarly mothballs and pieces of ermine kept flying in all directions as they were moving inside the Abbey. Now that would surely make the coronation a memorable event, but who wants that kind of history repeating?
To Be Continued…
If you are interested in the history of coronations, or would like to know more about the monarchy come on an Excellent walking tour that highlights all aspects of King Charles’s coronation. Hear stories of the traditions, rituals and the occasional mishaps that have shaped the ancient ritual over hundreds of years. More info and booking
Bea
Thanks a lot for this long review. I enjoyed it and was really interesting. I can’t wait for the day! 🙂