Greeted for the first time by his subjects this Friday (9) as he arrives at Buckingham Palace in London, Charles will be proclaimed King Charles III this Saturday. His coronation, however, still has no date set — and it could be more than a year from now.
This is because there are two different rites involved in the process of succession to the British throne. The first is the ascension to the throne itself. The rite marks the passage from the throne to the first in the line of succession as soon as the previous sovereign dies or abdicates, and is made official as soon as possible.
In Charles’ case, that means the next two days. This Friday, the meeting of the Ascension Council, formed by the British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, civil servants, high commissioners of the Commonwealth countries, takes place. [grupo de 56 países que reúne majoritariamente ex-colônias britânicas], and religious leaders, among others —the new king does not attend the meeting. The council members then sign a document acknowledging the sovereign.
The council meets again on Saturday (10), this time with the presence of the monarch, who will make a declaration and, following an early 18th century tradition, swear allegiance to the Church of Scotland. Then he will be proclaimed the new king before the people on the balcony of Saint James’ Palace.
While the proclamation is being read in the palace, similar ceremonies are taking place in Edinburgh, Windsor and York. It is tradition for the mayors of these cities to drink in honor of the new sovereign from a golden cup, according to the British newspaper The Guardian.
Charles’ coronation, on the other hand, could take months due to the necessary preparation. Elizabeth II was not crowned until June 1953, nearly a year and a half after she ascended the throne in 1952. The ceremony was the first of its kind to be televised in history.
Charles will be the 40th monarch to be crowned at Westminster Abbey, a tradition that dates back 900 years. The ceremony is Anglican and will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. It is he who will place the crown of Saint Edward on Charles’ head — a solid gold piece, dating from 1661, that weighs more than two kilos. There will be music, readings and the anointing ritual of the new monarch. Then Charles will read the coronation oath.
Not all monarchies have coronation ceremonies. In the Portuguese regime, for example, kings were acclaimed, not crowned, upon assuming the throne.
The tradition was started by the first king of the Bragança dynasty. After regaining Portugal’s independence from Spain in 1640, Dom João 4th symbolically handed over his crown to an image of Nossa Senhora da Conceição and affirmed that she would be the “true queen of Portugal”. The new sovereign even received a crown—but did not place it on his head.
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