The coronation of King Charles III is upon us. This next week the King will be crowned alongside his wife, Camilla, the Queen Consort in both a symbolic religious ceremony and the physical act of placing a crown on a monarch’s head.

 

The coronation will take place on Saturday 6th May at Westminster Abbey in London, which has been the setting for every coronation since 1066. It will also be broadcast from 8:30 am with rolling news coverage featured on ITV News, streaming on ITVX and across their social media platforms. In addition, other channels like BBC one and BBC Radio will also be streaming the event.

 

Now, you may ask, what exactly is a coronation? Coronations have remained much the same for more than a 1,000 years. It formalises the monarch’s role as the head of the Church of England and marks the transfer of their title and power. It is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch’s head. However, it is not compulsory for a monarch to be officially crowned to become King or Queen. For example, Edward VIII reigned without a coronation and Charles became King automatically on the death of his Mother, Queen Elizabeth II. 

 

Buckingham Palace has announced various events for this coming weekend, from a concert at Windsor Castle (7thMay) to The Coronation Big Lunch, in which neighbours and communities are invited to share food and fun together. There will also be an extra bank holiday across the country on the Monday after the coronation and pubs, clubs and bars are invited to stay open for an extra two hours on the Friday and Saturday of the coronation weekend.

 

With that aside, 2,000 guests are expected to attend the King’s Coronation. It was also announced that over 1,250 volunteers and young people have been invited to either attend the ceremony itself or be part of one of its surrounding events.