King Charles III is taking a modern approach to his upcoming coronation.
Though the 73-year-old King is expected to be crowned next year at Westminster Abbey in London, where British sovereigns have been coronated since 1066, he reportedly plans to scale back the ceremony’s length and guest list, as well as some ancient rituals and the opulent dress code seen at the investiture of his mother Queen Elizabeth in 1953, according to The Mail on Sunday.
According to the outlet, “Operation Golden Orb” will see Charles crowned in an hour-long ceremony before 2,000 guests, which marks a serious departure from the precedent set at the Queen’s three-hour coronation, which was attended by 8,000 guests. The new King also reportedly plans to do away with rites like the traditional presentation of gold ingots to the monarch and nix a Court of Claims (to determine coronation duties for members of the gentry) in the run-up to the big event.
As Prince Philip steered much of the organizing for the Queen’s historic coronation 70 years ago, heir to the throne Prince William will reportedly play an important role in helping his father plan the ceremony. This may include a more relaxed dress code without coronation robes — the ermine-edged, floor-sweeping crimson velvet cloaks paired with coronets (crowns) that indicate a peer’s rank, per Debrett’s.
“No Coronation robes. Give them to a museum where they belong,” Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Mather, who is involved in the plans, told the Mail. “It’s not going to be a tweed jacket and pair of jeans — but morning suit or lounge suit.’
The Mail reports the coronation of King Charles III will also be “more religiously and culturally diverse” to meet the modern world. The King won’t change outfits during the day as his mother did, and the program’s language itself will “will be adapted so as to be understandable to a more modern audience,” a source told the Mail.
“The King has stripped back a lot of the Coronation in recognition that the world has changed in the past 70 years,” another insider added.
The public can still look forward to some classic fairytale trappings, however. Charles is expected to ride in the Gold State Coach, recently refurbished for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, in a ceremony televised as his mother’s was before. The royal family will come out to support the final and most formal step of Charles’ accession as sovereign.
Buckingham Palace has yet to announce the date of King Charles’ coronation. Though the senior royal succeeded his mother as monarch immediately upon her death and was formally proclaimed King by the Accession Council on Sept. 9, his coronation was not immediately expected, to respect a period of mourning.
Though Elizabeth became Queen following the death of her father King George VI on Feb. 6, 1952, her coronation was not held until 16 months later.
On June 3, 1953, Queen Elizabeth was formally crowned at Westminster Abbey, in an epic event that drew 27 million television viewers — understandably so, as the first coronation ever broadcast on TV.
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