The King has banned television cameras from filming the moment he is anointed with holy oil before being crowned at Westminster Abbey.
His Majesty has chosen to shield himself from public view during the most sacred part of the May 6 ceremony.
Charles’s decision to abandon plans to have a see-through canopy specially made has dashed speculation he would become the first monarch in history to be publicly anointed.
Royal sources with knowledge of the coronation planning and procedures revealed the King decided he “must respect his relationship with God”.
Charles has instructed organisers to follow the tradition of previous monarchs for the moment when the Archbishop of Canterbury pours holy oil from the ampulla onto the Coronation Spoon, anointing the sovereign on the hands, breast and head.
The late Queen Elizabeth II was shown seated in the Coronation chair, under a canopy which was placed over her and held by the four Knights of the Garter, before being shielded for the anointing by the Archbishops.
Royal sources revealed how throughout months of intricate planning for the coronation, the King has been in favour of allowing the public and indeed the world - via a global television audience of 100 million - “to see as much of the ceremony as possible”.
But talk of an alternative canopy being used with a see-through top, to show him during the most sacred part of the event, was roundly dismissed.
The source said: “This is the most holy and sacred of the entire ceremony, where monarchs who have gone before have been upheld.
“The King takes his role and relationship (with God) extremely seriously and will continue with the anointing as it has been carried out before in full.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesman last night confirmed television cameras would not show the sacred anointing of the King.
The moment of anointing with the holy oil, which happens before the investiture and crowning, is at the centre of the most sacred part of the Coronation ceremony.
In previous years, including Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation in 1953, a canopy of cloth-of-gold was held over the monarch’s head for the anointing to protect their privacy.
The tradition goes back to the Old Testament where the anointing of Solomon by Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet is described, according to the Royal Collection Trust.
Until the 17th century the sovereign was considered to be appointed directly by God and this was confirmed by the ceremony of anointing.
Although the monarch is no longer considered divine in the same way, the ceremony of Coronation also confirms the monarch as the Head of the Church of England.
The Chrism oil with which The King and The Queen Consort will both be anointed was consecrated in The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in March.
For the service it will be contained in the Ampulla, made from gold and cast in the form of an eagle with outspread wings.
The silver-gilt Coronation Spoon is the oldest object in use at Coronations, having been first recorded in 1349 among St Edward’s Regalia in Westminster Abbey, and is the only piece of Royal goldsmiths’ work to survive from the twelfth century.
It was used to anoint King James I in 1603, and at every subsequent Coronation.
The plans are part of arrangements by the King and senior aides battling in a race against time to fulfil His Majesty’s wishes to create a ceremony befitting of its historical magnitude.
The Mirror yesterday anxious plans at the heart of the coronation including delayed seating plans, rehearsal overruns and the building of a ramp over fears the monarch could stumble getting up to his throne.
