At a time when it was a king’s duty to lead men into battle, resist evil, defend the good, execute justice and dispense mercy, the ritual of coronation sought to equip him with the necessary spiritual and symbolic temporal tools for the job.
The job spec may have changed since William the Conqueror. But as King Charles III, alongside the queen, became the 40th sovereign to be crowned at Westminster Abbey, such kingly and chivalrous virtues were still solemnly invoked.
