King Charles is expected to be crowned at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6 next year, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The palace said the coronation ceremony would reflect the monarch’s current and future roles, while still being “rooted in long- standing traditions and pageantry”.

The ceremony will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and will also see the king’s wife Camilla crowned as Queen Consort.

During the ceremony, King Charles will be anointed, blessed and consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Many had speculated the coronation would take place on June 2, which would coincide with the 70th anniversary of the coronation of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Charles automatically became king the moment Queen Elizabeth died on September 8.

“The Ceremony will see His Majesty King Charles III crowned alongside The Queen Consort,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

“The Coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.”

The palace said further details would be announced “in due course”.

Coronation ceremonies have retained a similar structure for over 1000 years, and while next year’s is expected to include the same core elements, it may also be a toned down affair compared to that of Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1953.

It has been reported that King Charles will not undergo as many outfit changes as previous coronations and may forego several ancient rituals that could seem out of touch given the United Kingdom is experiencing a cost-of-living crisis.

The curtailing of certain rituals is expected to reduce the time of the ceremony from over three hours to just over one.

Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was the first ever televised, giving the public a glimpse into the solemn  religious service and celebration that only select a few had seen inside Westminster Abbey for the 900 years.

Source: ABC News

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