London: King Charles III coronation is going to bring a seachange in the UK and across Commonwealth realms, prominent being National Anthem, coins, stamps, postboxes and passports to name a few.
Following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, Charles III instantly became King. However, officially he will be crowned on May 6, eight months after he ascended to the throne.
Numerous small changes to British daily life are taking place after King Charles III ascended to the throne. For instance, King Charles portrait will now feature on British money and postage stamps, Los Angeles Times reported.
The British national anthem — “God Save the Queen” or “God Save the King,” depending on who is reigning, as per the news report. After King Charles III ascended to the throne, the first three lines of the UK national anthem are: “God save our gracious King! Long live our noble King! God save the King!
‘God Save The King’ was a patriotic song first publicly performed in London in 1745, according to Buckingham Palace. The patriotic song came to be known as the National Anthem at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Bank of England unveiled the design of King Charles III banknotes on 20 December 2022. The King’s portrait will feature on all four of UK polymer banknotes (£5, £10, £20 and £50). The rest of the design on the banknotes will remain the same. The King’s image will feature on the front of the banknotes and in the see-through security window.
Bank of England expects to issue bank notes featuring the King’s portrait by mid-2024. People in the UK will still be able to use all polymer notes that feature the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
Current banknotes featuring the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II will continue to be legal tender and will only be removed from circulation once they become worn or damaged. The banknotes featuring the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II will co-circulate with those featuring King Charles III.
The Coronation of The King and The Queen Consort will take place at Westminster Abbey on May 6. The event will mark almost seven decades since the last coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. He will be the 40th monarch to be crowned at Westminster Abbey.
The Service will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. King Charles III and Camilla will arrive at Westminster Abbey in procession from Buckingham Palace, known as ‘The King’s Procession’, Buckingham Palace announced in a statement.
After the Service, King Charles III and Camilla will return to Buckingham Palace in a larger ceremonial procession, known as ‘The Coronation Procession’. Other members of the royal family will join King Charles III and Camilla in this procession. The King and the Queen Consort accompanied by the members of the royal family will appear on the balcony to conclude the day’s ceremonial events.
More than 6,000 men and women of the UK’s Armed Forces and nearly 400 armed forces personnel from at least 35 Commonwealth countries will participate in the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, according to Buckingham Palace.
It is for the first time since 1937, the coronation of King Charles III will include the crowning of a Queen Consort. King George VI’s wife Queen Elizabeth was the last Queen Consort to be crowned. King Charles III’s coronation comes almost 70 years after the coronation of his mother.
On 6 February 1952, King George VI died after a prolonged illness and Princess Elizabeth immediately acceded to the throne, becoming Queen Elizabeth II. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. The ceremony was conducted by Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Geoffrey Fisher.
Representatives of the peers, the Commons and all the great public interests in the UK, the Prime Ministers and leading citizens of the other Commonwealth nations, and representatives of foreign states were present in the coronation ceremony.
Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was the first to be televised and for most people, it was the first time they had watched an event on television. 27 million people in the UK watched the ceremony on television while 11 million listened on the radio.
How will King Charles III coronation be different from Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation?
Both the processional route and service will be shorter, CNN reported. There will be difference in the number of guests participating in the coronation. Another difference is the number of guests. In 1953, the guest list was so long that temporary structures had to be erected within the abbey to accommodate more than 8,000 people who were invited to the coronation, as per the CNN report.
Some of the changes to the ancient Christian ceremony, the theme of which is “called to serve” include the King praying aloud, participation of religious leaders from other faiths, involvement of female clergy and including other languages spoken in the British Isles, as per the CNN report.
Furthermore, the traditional homage of peers has been replaced with a “homage of the people.” The development will witness the people being invited to become a part of “a chorus of millions of voices enabled for the first time in history to participate in this solemn and joyful moment.”
A Lambeth Palace spokesperson called the new homage an “opportunity for those who wish to be given voice within the service, and for those at home to have a chance to be an extension of the abbey congregation,” as per the news report. The Lambeth Palace spokesperson said the change was “an invitation” and not “an expectation or request.”
