King Charles' slimmed-down coronation will take place on Saturday, May 6, in Westminster Abbey, it has been confirmed by Buckingham Palace. While the ceremony will carry on many of the traditions that have been in place for more than 1,000 years, it appears it will be on a smaller scale as details emerge.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct the service, which will be taking place eight months after the monarch's accession and the death of the Queen.
Plans for the major event are known by the codename Operation Golden Orb, which sets out the blueprint for the service and the pageantry surrounding it, but there is no indication yet if a bank holiday will be granted to mark the event.
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Buckingham Palace said the coronation ceremony will be "rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry" but also "reflect the monarch's role today and look towards the future". Charles III will be anointed with holy oil, receive the orb, coronation ring and sceptre, be crowned with the majestic St Edward's Crown and blessed during the historic ceremony.
Queen Consort Camilla will also be anointed with holy oil and crowned, just like the Queen Mother was when she was crowned Queen in 1937. Elizabeth II had announced on the eve of her Platinum Jubilee in February 2022 that she endorsed the then-Duchess of Cornwall to be known as Queen Consort when the time came.
Royal aides insisted, when she married Charles, that Camilla did not want to be queen and said originally that she "intended" to be known instead as Princess Consort - the first in British history - when Charles acceded to the throne. The wife of a king automatically becomes a Queen and only a change in legislation would prevent her from doing so, but there had been much controversy over whether Camilla would use the title, being Charles's former mistress who became his spouse.
The Palace said: "The coronation will reflect the monarch's role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry."
Charles' coronation is expected to be on a smaller scale and shorter, with suggestions that it could last just one hour rather than over three. It is expected to be more inclusive of multi-faith Britain than past coronations but will be an Anglican service.
Guest numbers will be reduced from 8,000 to around 2,000, with peers expected to wear suits and dresses instead of ceremonial robes, and a number of rituals, such as the presentation of gold ingots, axed. Coronations have not traditionally been held on a weekend, with the late Queen's taking place on a Tuesday. It has not yet been confirmed whether there will be any arrangements for a bank holiday.
Further details are due to be released in due course, but the Government and the royal household will be conscious of the scale of the event in light of the cost-of-living crisis facing the country.
The late Queen's coronation took place on June 2 1953 - 16 months after she became monarch, and there had been speculation Charles would opt for a June date close to or even on the 70th anniversary of his mother's ceremony. May 6 is also the birthday of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's son Archie - Charles's grandson - who will be turning four on the day.
Guest lists have yet to be confirmed for the spectacle, including whether or not Harry and Meghan will be invited or be able to travel from California to attend. The date was also the wedding anniversary of the late Queen's sister Princess Margaret, while the King's grandfather George VI held his coronation in the month of May.
The King acceded to the throne on September 8, immediately on the death of his mother, Elizabeth II - the nation's longest reigning monarch.
The late Queen's coronation was a carnival of celebration and a morale boost for a nation starved of pageantry in the wake of the Second World War. People began to bed down in the streets of London as early as 48 hours before Tuesday June 2 1953, just to make sure they had a standing place to watch the Queen pass by in the gold state coach in a grand procession.
By the Monday evening, in pouring rain and driving wind, half a million people were already lining the procession route.
Charles, who was only four at the time, attended the service. He has recalled his mother going to say goodnight to him the night before while wearing the crown so she could get used to its weight on her head.
Charles described the "thousands of people gathered in The Mall outside Buckingham Palace chanting 'We want the Queen' and keeping me awake at night".
The 1953 coronation was shared with a wider audience through the relatively new medium of television, which came of age with the screening of the ceremony for the first time.
An estimated 27 million people in Britain alone watched the ceremony live on their black and white TVs and the images were also beamed around the world. The Duke of Norfolk, who organised the Queen's funeral, also has the role of staging the coronation.
He was recently banned from driving for six months after pleading guilty to using his mobile phone behind the wheel - despite claiming he needed his licence to arrange the forthcoming ceremony.
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