The much-touted coronation of King Charles ended with fanfare, mockery and denial. CHIKA OKEKE writes on the thrills and frills surrounding the historic event.
King Charles III receives The St Edward’s Crown during his coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey, London.
Streets of Britain witnessed huge colorful display on Saturday, May 6, 2023, as millions lined up on different traditional attires to witness the coronation of King Charles III as the head of the British monarchy.
The processions, pageantry and ceremonies drew visitors and tourists to London for such magnificent event that no country had ever observed.
Seen as the biggest ceremony for over seven decades in Britain, there was a sumptuous display of pageantry dating back 1,000 years.
In addition, about 100 world leaders graced the event, just as over one million persons glued to their television to catch a glimpse of the much-touted event.
The historic ceremony dated back to the era of the 74-year-old’s predecessor, William, the Conqueror in 1066.
As the principal leader of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, slowly placed the 360-year-old St Edward’s Crown on Charles’ head, the new King sat on a 14th-century throne in Westminster Abbey, London.
Charles’ second wife Camilla, 75, was also crowned the queen during the two-hour ceremony. The coronation was another means to legitimise the monarch in the public space.
Despite struggling to reshape the economy given its historic exit from the European Union, the royal family provided a vital diplomatic tool that sustained Britain's position as one of the choicest destinations globally.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: "No other country could put on such a dazzling display like the processions, pageantry, ceremonies and street parties."
Given Sunak’s stance, the coronation held at a time Britian is struggling with high cost of living especially among the youth, who had wondered the relevance of the royal family.
Meagre Ceremony
Irrespective of the thrills, King Charles coronation was meagre compared to the ceremony hosted for late Queen Elizabeth during her coronation in 1953.
With the Saturday's coronation, Charles automatically succeeded his mother, Queen Elizabeth as King after her death in September, 2022.
Shortly after his installation , King Charles and Queen Camilla left Buckingham Palace for the abbey in a modern, black Diamond State Jubilee Coach, accompanied by cavalrymen wearing shining breastplates and plumed helmets.
Also, hundreds of soldiers adorned in scarlet uniforms and black bearskin hats lined the route along The Mall, the grand boulevard to Buckingham Palace.
Interestingly, thousands shunned the light rain to catch a glimpse of the historic event.
Mark Strasshine said: “The split-second glance of seeing the king is really important but I think the whole day was historic.
“You very much feel the pride in the nation,"
Republicans Woe
To maintain sanity, over 11,000 police were deployed to stamp out any attempted disruption.
Notwithstanding the happy moment, hundreds of republicans booed and waved banners as King Charles exited the Buckingham Palace.
They carried placards with inscription such as “Not My King” but the leader of the group, Graham Smith was arrested alongside five other protesters.
A lawmaker, who was among the anti-monarchy protesters, Clive Lewis, rated the colorful display as outdated.
“It is an unequal and out-of-date system because it has a hereditary billionaire born into wealth and privilege who basically symbolises the inequality of wealth and power in our society." he added.
Prince Harry sitting in the middle alongside other British royals.
Meghan's Feud
The feud between Meghan Markle and the British royal family also played out during the official coronation of King Charles.
Meghan, the daughter-in-law to King Charles and her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, were absent during the historic event.
Rather, she stayed over 5,000 miles away from Westminster Abbey and spent her days in Montecito, California, where they celebrated Archie's 4th birthday on Saturday.
Archie was born in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2019 but his birthday coincided with King Charles coronation.
A close friend to Meghan who spoke on condition of anonymity said: "Meghan wants to be there (coronation) to support her father-in-law, but at the same time, the scrutiny she receives outweighs the support.
"There's always going to be that other side challenging their reasoning, and who wants to put themselves in that position?"
Archie and Lilibet were last seen in the UK during late Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022. The queen died in September, 2022.
It was Lili's first visit to the UK, who was born in California on June 4, 2021. Prince Harry and Meghan had named their daughter in honor of the Queen whose childhood nickname was Lilibert.
However, Meghan's husband, Prince Harry, arrived for the crowning ceremony at Westminster Abbey alongside his cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie and their husbands.
He sat in the third row between Jack Brooksbank, Eugenie's husband, and Princess Alexandra during the service.
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