A historic day and a long weekend of festivities. IKing Charles III is crowned in London (United Kingdom), Saturday May 6, huit months after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at the age of 96. The event takes place in front of more than 2,000 guests, tens of thousands of spectators in the streets of the British capital and tens, if not hundreds of millions of television viewers around the world. The 74-year-old sovereign and Queen, Camilla Parker Bowles, are due to leave Buckingham Palace at 11:20 a.m. (Paris time), for a two-kilometre procession – accessible to the public – which will take them to Westminster Abbey for the ceremony coronation, scheduled for noon. Follow our special day in this live.
The public arrived in large numbers at dawn. The prestigious avenue du Mall, where the royal procession will pass around 11:30 a.m., is open to the crowd, who have come in large numbers to hope to see Charles III pass by in his golden carriage, alongside his wife. Some have set up their tent for several days already.
Two hours of a historic ceremony. The coronation of Charles III, at Westminster Abbey, begins at noon. The ceremony takes place in several stages: the sovereign takes the oath, then the symbols of royal power are presented to him. The king then receives a holy oil, before being crowned with the crown of Saint Edward and settling in the royal throne. The queen in turn takes the oath, then wears the crown of Queen Mary, grandmother of Elizabeth II.
A new procession and a flypast. A new procession of the royal couple is scheduled from 2 p.m. (Paris time) between Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. She must be escorted by 4,000 soldiers, representatives of the Commonwealth and the Royal Legion. Charles III and the Queen are then expected on the balcony of the Royal Palace to greet the crowd, then a flypast will close this coronation day.
Many guests. Among the more than 2,000 guests at the coronation, Prince Harry, son of Charles III, is particularly expected after tensions between the prince, his wife Meghan Markle and part of the royal clan. Other royal figures have responded, such as the King of Spain Felipe VI or the King of Sweden. The event also welcomes leaders from around the world, including French President Emmanuel Macron, his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Australian and Pakistani Prime Ministers, Anthony Albanese and Shehbaz Sharif. The United States is represented by the First Lady, Jill Biden.