In a historic coronation ceremony, King Charles III was crowned the first in the United Kingdom for seventy years, and shortly after the King's Coronation, his wife Camilla was crowned Queen.

Edited by| Hugh Gey

Europe section -  CJ journalist

London – May,6,2023

  As soon as the Archbishop of Canterbury placed the crown of St. Edward on the King's head, chants of "God Save The King" were heard inside and outside the Westminster Abbey Church.

Artillery fired a salute to the king at 13 locations in the UK, while the bells of Westminster Abbey Church rang for two minutes, and toasts were raised by the crowds on London's "Mall" Road to celebrate the occasion.

After the ceremony, the crowds lined up on both sides of the motorcade route and watched the newly crowned couple make their way to Buckingham Palace aboard the Golden royal carriage.

On "The Mall" Road, the audience looked out from under the umbrellas in anticipation of the appearance of members of the royal family on the balcony of the palace.

But plans for an air show over the Palace have been scaled back due to "inappropriate weather conditions," the British Ministry of Defense confirmed.

The ceremony itself was seen on television screens all over the world and was attended by about 2,300 people who were invited to the Westminster Abbey Chapel.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, arrived at the ceremony accompanied by his cousins Princess Eugene and Princess Beatrice.

Prince Harry arrived in the country on Friday from the United States on a commercial plane.

This is the first time, since the publication of the Duke's memoirs, that the prince has been seen in public accompanied by his brother Prince William, Prince of Wales, although they are separated by several rows of seats during the ceremony.

After the Coronation Mass, he was seen leaving the Westminster Abbey Church alone in a "BMW" car. Prince Andrew was seen following him in another car in the company of Princess Eugene and her husband Jack Brooksbank.

It is believed that Prince Harry will quickly return to the United States to join his wife, Meghan, as his son Archie celebrates his fourth birthday today.

There was a striking presence of invited celebrities, among whom were actress Emma Thompson and American singer Katy Perry.

US First Lady Jill Biden and her granddaughter Finnegan also arrived in a three-car motorcade. President Joe Biden did not come to the UK.

Among the attendees at the church were also French President Emmanuel Macron and the first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelensky, as well as British prime minister Rishi Sunak and the leaders of the Commonwealth countries.

The coronation ceremony was attended by 90 heads of state and government, according to the British Foreign Office.

The coronation ceremony began at Eleven in the morning daylight saving time and ended at one in the afternoon, and its main theme was the importance of the service.

This idea was reflected in the oath and prayer performed by King Charles, and in the sermon delivered by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

"I came not to serve, but to serve," King Charles said at his first prayer after arriving at the monastery church.

The Archbishop opened his sermon by saying: "We have gathered here to crown a king, and we are crowning a king to serve".

At the monastery, Charles was declared" true king " undisputed in the first stage of the ceremony.

He then asked those gathered at the ceremony to show their loyalty and service to the king by chanting "God Save The King".

There were moments of complete silence between the section and the music as each stage of the concert ended.

Prince William also swore allegiance to King Charles, before asking those gathered at the ceremony to show their support for the King.

Despite the notoriously volatile English weather, there was a festive atmosphere at the "mall", with the public occasionally greeting the police and security guards.

Charles became king of the United Kingdom and 14 other countries in September when his mother Elizabeth died after 70 years on the throne. There have been intensive preparations for months for the celebrations of the coronation - the 40th to take place in the Westminster Abbey Chapel since 1066.

Unlike the way the procession passed, there were no crowds outside the church, as it was closed to the public just before mass.

The mass at the church was presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, assisted by the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell.

The ceremony emphasized diversity and inclusion, with more multi-religious elements than any previous coronation ceremony, with contributions from representatives of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Sikhs.

The British prime minister, a Hindu by religion, Rishi Sunak, recited a Bible lesson, while music was played and hymns were sung in Welsh, Scottish and Irish Gaelic.

The coronation ceremony also attracted a small group of protesters from the" Republic " Group, A group calling for the abolition of the monarchy, who rallied on this occasion in Trafalgar Square.

The ceremony was accompanied by a huge security operation, with the Metropolitan Police putting 11,500 officers on duty in what it says is its largest single-day deployment ever.

Anti-monarchist groups defended their right to protest, but the police warned that "their tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be very little".

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