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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Charlotte Hawes

Why King Charles III's coronation is likely to be very different to the Queen's

King Charles III has now ascended the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away at Balmoral Castle at the age of 96 on September 8.

The former Prince of Wales was formally proclaimed monarch at an Accession Council held on Saturday, September 10.

The ceremony was held at

St James' Palace

and it was filmed for the first time as the Privy Council officially proclaimed His Majesty as King Charles III with Camilla, Queen Consort and William, Prince of Wales present.

King Charles' official coronation will take a lot of preparation and it could take around 12 months for the grand ceremony to take place.

But how will his coronation differ to that of his mother's in 1953?

The 'slimmed-down' monarchy

King Charles III and William, Prince of Wales at the Queen's state funeral (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

King Charles III's coronation will be designed in line with his vision of a 'slimmed-down' monarchy.

The former Prince of Wales will be crowned alongside his Queen Consort, wife Camilla, after Queen Elizabeth II expressed her wish for the former Duchess of Cornwall to take the title during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier this year.

The Firm is currently made up of the King, his Queen Consort, Prince William, Princess Catherine, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and his wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.

King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward arriving at Westminster Abbey for the Queen's funeral (AFP via Getty Images)

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle are no longer working members of the royal family due to 'Megxit' where the couple withdrew from royal duties in January 2020.

Prince Andrew is also no longer a member of The Firm as he was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages in January 2022 after he was accused of sexual assault by Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

Coronation will be 'less expensive' than previous ceremonies

The Queen's coronation in 1953 cost around £1.57 million at the time (CAMERA PRESS/Cecil Beaton)

Royal sources have said that the King's coronation will be "shorter, smaller, less expensive and more representative of different faiths and community groups."

The King is also said to have expressed that he wants his coronation to reflect the ethnic diversity of modern Britain.

Her Majesty The Queen was crowned 16 months after the death of her father, George VI, and the same is expected of King Charles III.

The Queen's coronation was a moment of national celebration in 1953 as it lifted the public who were still in the grip of post-war austerity and rationing.

Her coronation cost around £1.57 million back in 1953.

The Government pays for the coronation and King Charles III has reportedly expressed the wish that his service will be considered “good value” in comparison to previous ceremonies.

The ceremony could be shorter than in previous years

Queen Elizabeth II's coronation was around three hours long (Getty Images)

According to The Telegraph, sources have claimed that the service will be “far shorter” than the three hour ceremony for Queen Elizabeth II.

It is believed that the former Prince of Wales changed his coronation vows a number of years ago with his mother's blessing to include “Queen Camilla”, but it was only announced earlier this year.

The vow change was said to have been made during a wider rewriting of the service to bring it up to date into modern times.

Camilla will be crowned during the coronation as well as King Charles III

King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort will both be crowned during the coronation (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Camilla, Queen Consort, will become the first consort to be crowned since 1937 as Prince Philip was not entitled to be crowned at Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953.

The Queen Consort will wear the platinum and diamond crown made for the Queen Mother’s coronation in 1937 while King Charles will wear the St Edward's Crown that is only used for coronations.

You can leave your tributes to Queen Elizabeth II here

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