It was an event months in the planning, but that doesn’t mean King Charles’ coronation didn’t go off without a hitch.
He was crowned in Westminster Abbey, but when Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, went to put the crown on Charles’ head, he seemed to have a little trouble getting it on.
Welby spent several seconds adjusting the St Edward’s Crown, before checking with Charles to make sure it was on properly.
During the crowning, Welby said the following prayer: “King of kings and Lord of lords, bless, we beseech thee, this Crown, and so sanctify thy servant Charles, upon whose head this day thou dost place it for a sign of royal majesty, that he may be crowned with thy gracious favour and filled with abundant grace and all princely virtues; through him who liveth and reigneth supreme over all things, one God, world without end. Amen.”
When he went to coronate Queen Camilla, it appeared Welby again had a little trouble. He spent several seconds adjusting the heavy crown, before Camilla subtly wiped away a few stray hairs.
It wouldn’t be the first time a coronation has been fumbled. When King Edward VII was coronated in 1902, the ageing and almost blind Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple, accidentally put the crown on backwards.
King Charles was coronated in front of the royal family (including Prince Harry), celebrities, dignitaries, and millions upon millions of people watching from home.
It marks a new era for Britain, but not without serious controversy; despite the fact that it was a “paired down” coronation, it still cost an estimated £100 million (AUD $187 million), which given the cost of living crisis, is a tough pill to swallow.
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