There will be one part of King Charles III Coronation that will not be televised.
The King and Queen Camilla will be crowned at Westminster Abbey in London today, Saturday, May 6, but when the King is anointed with the holy Chrism oil and takes communion, he will be covered by screen known as a 'canopy of state'. After the sermon, the ancient hymn Veni, Creator Spiritus is sung in languages from across the United Kingdom, calling on the Holy Spirit just before the most sacred part of the Coronation rite - the anointing with holy oil.
A screen shields The King from view as he sits in the Coronation Chair for this most solemn and personal of moments. Beneath him, the Cosmati pavement symbolises the whole cosmos on the Day of Judgement, when Christ will judge all things in his mercy; the King of kings, whom all Monarchs are called to reflect, and to whom all must give an account.
READ MORE: Live updates of King Charles Coronation, times, route and guests
The King takes off his crimson robe of state and wears a simple white shirt for the private anointing with holy oil in the coronation chair behind a screen, in the most sacred part of the ceremony. This is also what happened when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953.
The Chrism oil, consecrated at a ceremony in The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, was consecrated by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, and the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, The Most Reverend Hosam Naoum.
The oil has been created using olives harvested from two groves on the Mount of Olives, at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene and the Monastery of the Ascension. The Monastery of Mary Magdalene is the burial place of His Majesty’s grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece. The olives were pressed just outside Bethlehem.
The oil has been perfumed with essential oils – sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin and amber – as well as orange blossom.
Olive oil comes from the Mount of Olives which demonstrates the deep historic link between the Coronation, the Old Testament and the Holy Land. From the anointing of King Saul through to the present day, Monarchs have been anointed with oil from this sacred place. The formula has been used for hundreds of years and was also used at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The Chrism oil which will be used to anoint His Majesty The King while the choir sings Handel’s ‘Zadok the Priest’ during this most sacred moment of the coronation. It will also be used for the anointing of Her Majesty The Queen.
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