Coronation of King Charles III & Queen Camilla

From the jewels and the ceremony, to the history and family roles, here's everything you need to know

- JULIET RIEDEN

It has been 70 years since the last British coronation and as The Weekly goes to press, we are counting down to what will be a very special and unique moment in contemporary history, the crowning of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on

Saturday May 6. Whether you’re a royalist or not, this ceremony will be an extraordinary spectacle with perfectly choreographed pomp, which, thanks to modern technology, will be watched by more people around the world than any previous coronation.

Before the advent of television, stills photography and paintings have offered visual records of past coronations. But Charles’ mother’s crowning on June 2, 1953 broke new ground when it was televised, a fi rst for a coronation. Those scenes have been replayed time and again over the decades, and were recalled poignantly at Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations three months before her death. The Gold State Coach that carried the newly crowned Queen back to Buckingham Palace was a key part of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee pageant featuring ethereal images of the waving 27-year-old sovereign. Later, Her Majesty, 96, appeared on the palace balcony to rapturous cheers.

On May 6, Charles will return to the palace in that same carriage, and the procession and his coronation will be similarly recorded and streamed live around the world.

Buckingham Palace has said the ceremony “will refl ect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future while being rooted in long-standing traditions and pageantry”. What that will look like remains to be seen, but alongside the dazzling Crown Jewels and historic regalia, there will also be considerable solemnity. This is a deeply religious occasion, full of symbolism that has remained unchanged for nigh on a thousand years, the only remaining ceremony of its type in Europe.