The grand day of King Charles III’s coronation, a once-in-a-generation ceremony taking place after 70 years and steeped in not-so-hushed controversies, is finally here.
Though King Charles only recently received his title, plans for the coronation, codenamed “Operation Golden Orb,” have been years in the making and were discussed during yearly meetings when Queen Elizabeth II was alive. While it is not actually mandatory for the monarch to go through the coronation to be called King, it is mostly a formality that symbolizes that the powers held by the late queen have been officially transferred to her son.
When and how to watch King Charles III’s coronation?
The ceremony is due to start at 6am ET, with King Charles and Camilla getting ready to embark on their carriage ride to Westminster Abbey. In the U.K., the ceremony will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC radio as well as on YouTube via Sky News’ channel. As for those wishing to attend the coronation, they can catch the same courtesy of channels like NBC, ABC, and CNN or watch the event via ABC News Live, CNN Live, and NBCNews.com.
The easiest choices? The Royal Family’s YouTube channel is also broadcasting the entire procession, including the ceremony. And of course, you have us covering every step of the way so you don’t miss anything — We Got This Covered’s David James is currently on the grounds, looping in and out of the crowd — and not everyone is Team Charles there – making its way to the coronation.
The controversies that bogged down the coronation
Charles’ coronation has been plagued with public demands of ditching the whole monarch system as well as his past with Princess Diana. Protests over the same took place as he made his way to the ceremony, with emphasis on the lack of the population’s contribution in choosing the nation’s leader, the eye-watering expenses made — courtesy of tax payer’s money — to hold the coronation, the absence of Meghan Markle, and the fact that Prince Andrew attended the ceremony.
Back in 2021, he faced allegations by American-Australian campaigner Virginia Giuffre who claimed that she was sex-trafficked to Andrew by Jeffrey Epstein. While the matter was settled outside court in 2022, Andrew resigned from public roles in the face of the ongoing backlash.
Who attended the ceremony?
Apart from the 100 heads of state, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, First Lady of the United States of America Jill Biden, and leaders of the Commonwealth countries, selected members o the Royal family (no Meghan Markle but Prince Harry is here), celebrities like Emma Thompson and Katy Perry have also marked their presence at the coronation.
The last time the coronation took place, it was in June 1953. 69 years separate the two coronations and while the last one was held on a grand scale, Charles has chosen to slim down on the same — whether he is being modest, attempting to detract attention from the cloud of drama the Royal Family is still stuck in, or minimize the controversies his not-so-forgotten past still has the capability to rile.
Well, there was plenty of majesty and mayhem in today’s event. Dive in!
8:10am ET: As the newly crowned King and Queen embark on their way back to Buckingham Palace, it is time I take your leave. And while taking you on this journey was one fun trip, here’s hoping King Charles III lives long and follows the late Queen’s lead when it comes to delaying treating the world to another grand coronation.
7:50am ET: While the debate around whether the Champions League theme was actually played at the coronation rages on…
… King Charles III and Camilla have taken a brief respite to get ready for the final procession back to Buckingham Palace. As for the Champions League song, it was actually the coronation anthem “Zadok the Priest” that has been played at every British crowning. The reason it sounds so much like the Champions League Anthem is because Tony Britten transformed the Handel version into it. But it was the traditional version you heard today.
7:40 am ET: Those on Team Prince Harry are sure that being subtle isn’t the royal family’s strongest suit as after relegating the Duke of Sussex to the third row to sit with minor royals, they seemingly had Princess Anne “block” him as well.
7:25am ET: Camilla is the next to be crowned and looks like the royal family has made certain unprecedented choices for the same. For starters, she is being anointed without a screen – something that wasn’t the case with past queens. Also, she will be crowned with Queen Mary’s crown. Why? To avoid yet another drama as the crown with the Koh-i-Noor diamond remains a glaring highlight of Britain’s much-detested colonial past.
But all the precautions and diversions haven’t completely quelled the antagonistic feelings towards Camilla becoming queen.
7:20am ET: Apparently, the ceremony and the whole procession aren’t the only ones being labeled the “wastage” of tax money – after the “grim reaper,” the presence of two Camillas is the new topic of discussion.
7:10am ET: Amid the chorus of “God save the King!” Charles has been crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby with the regal headpiece — which is solid gold and holds more than 400 precious and semi-precious stones — that cements his status as Britain’s monarch even as the online chatter continues to protest against the extravagant expenditure of holding the ceremony in the first place and the people not getting the choice to pick their leader.
7am ET: The “most sacred” and private part of the ceremony is over — the King was anointed with oil while sitting in the coronation chair and hidden from view via a screen. It now is time for the Investiture and the Crowning, with the King dressed in Colobium Sindonis, Supertunica, and Girdle and waiting to be crowned.
6:50am ET: Yes, the royal family is doing its damndest to keep its distance from all the Meghan Markle and Prince Harry controversies, but reminders of the same keep popping up everywhere. First, it was the protestors, and now, in the form of the Ascension choir performing at the coronation.
For those who don’t remember, these eight singers are part of the same choir that performed at Harry and Meghan’s wedding
6:45am ET: Even though the coronation is proceeding a lot quicker, not everyone is invested to see its expected outcome as those in Britain would rather attend the Guardians of the Galaxy’s semi-final MCU farewell in theaters.
Well, we have to agree. While GotG Vol. 3 is out there, revealing MCU’s dark secret, we already know the coronation will end with Charles with the title he has had for months. But again, the ceremony is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime event.
6:25am ET: After all the drama preceding his coronation — including the penis that was mowed into the coronation lawn -King Charles III has added his own twist to the ceremony by swearing to “foster an environment in which people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely.” A new addition to the ceremony, the pledge literally means the King is acknowledging that Britain is no longer just a Christian country and embraces every one of any faith, even the ones that don’t believe in deities and religions.
6:20am ET: While Charles and Camilla are still making their way, someone spotted the ceremony’s impromptu guest of honor — the “Grim Reaper” who is apparently there on Princess Diana’s request as per the current consensus.
6:10am ET: King Charles III and Camilla have arrived at Westminster Abbey. But even though the royal family may have neatly sidestepped the escalation in the drama had Meghan Markle attended the ceremony, protestors have made it known that while they detest the monarch, Markle is blessed with the same love the masses bestowed upon Princess Diana.
5:50am ET: Along with the rest of the royal family, Prince Harry and Prince Andrew have also arrived at the coronation. The arrival of Harry had been a dicey affair in light of his recently released controversial memoir Spare and the fact that he and Meghan haven’t exactly held back on the hardships they faced in the royal family. The Suits star isn’t attending the ceremony and neither is the Duchess of York who wasn’t invited.
5:25am ET: On one hand, the coronation is getting filled with its elite guests — including Katy Perry, who is every one of us when we set foot in a dark movie theatre.
Meanwhile, the “Not my King” and other related banners being used by the protestors have been labeled a “public order offense” and the police are busy snatching them away as you read this.
5:35am ET: …and the procession has begun! King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla are officially on their way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey for their coronation in the Imperial State Coach.
5:10am ET: Jill Biden, a bestselling author and First Lady of the United States of America, has arrived at Westminster Abbey with her granddaughter to attend the king’s coronation. Hopefully, her presence will be able to soothe the newly-indicted former U.S. president Donald Trump who recently went on a rant to once again baselessly point fingers at Joe Biden, this time for not attending the coronation.
5:00am ET: But as David shares, the protestors are immensely outnumbered by those beyond excited to watch as Britain prepares to officially crown King Charles. They are braving the steadily thickening crowd and the currently gentle drizzle that threatens to turn into a downpour. As you can see, Royal superfans Gaynor and Susie went to the trouble of making these exceptional hats and are not bothered by the rain messing up their creation as long as it conveys their support for the King and well, gets them a ton of compliments!
4:50am ET: The forecasts of rainy weather and a gray sky are turning out to be true — though whether Princess Diana cursed the event from beyond the veil is a topic of debate. But it won’t be enough to stop the coronation. King Charles and Camilla were seen driving from their residence at Clarence House to Buckingham Palace…
…while David found some very drenched policemen manning their posts to ensure the coronation goes as smoothly as possible.
4:40am ET: Well, one thing is for certain — the authorities are not taking any chances. They had been apprehending demonstrators and seizing placards. As per a recent report, they have also arrested the head of an anti-monarchist protest and more organizers of the same.
4:30am ET: Evidently seeing #NotMyKing leaving the confines of social media to make its presence known in the flesh isn’t exactly an enticing prospect for those who are there to air their passionate support to the monarch. They would rather have the protestors rallying against the coronation either “go home” or do it “somewhere else” as “today’s not the time or the place” to be engaging in a protest.
4:25am ET: While countries around the world have long ditched the tradition of Kings and having a monarch they didn’t choose, England is still, in a way, stuck in its traditions. And evidently, for the masses, the disappointment has not ebbed away in the slightest. Malcolm Sparks, one of the protestors at the coronation, stresses the presence of “modern functioning democracies” in the world and how England chooses to be “undemocratic.”
“It is very important that we get to vote for our head of state and not have one that is imposed on us. In many modern functioning democracies around the world, the head of state is someone that is voted in by the people and swears allegiance to the people.”
4:20am ET: Hey everyone! This is Apeksha and I will be guiding you through the coronation as David shares with me what is happening during one of the biggest events in history, which he is getting to attend in person. Yeah, some people are lucky like that. But no worries, I get to be all excited and chatter about the coronation without battling the rain and the crowd. See, there is a silver lining after all.
