Saturday, 28 Sep 2024

King to break with royal tradition at Coronation in tribute to his mum

King Charles will break with a centuries-old royal tradition at his Coronation next month in a fitting tribute to his late mother. Full ceremonial details of the 1.3-mile route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey have been revealed and Charles has shirked the convention of travelling in the Gold State Coach in favour of honouring the late Queen by using the Diamond Jubilee State Coach. The coach, the newest in the Royal Mews, was created for Queen Elizabeth II to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Her late Majesty’s reign in 2012.

Charles and Camilla will use the special carriage for the King’s Procession, the journey to Westminster Abbey ahead of the 11am service.

While it is more understated than the 260-year-old golden coach with its black and gold details, the Diamond Jubilee carriage makes for a much more comfortable experience as it boasts shock absorbers, heating and air conditioning.

The late Queen described the bumpy experience in the golden carriage on her Coronation day as “horrible” and courtiers famously strapped a hot water bottle under her seat to keep her warm through the unseasonally cold and wet weather in June 1953. Queen Victoria also complained about the carriage’s “distressing oscillation”.

Martin Oates, senior carriage restorer at the Royal Mews said the impressive Gold State Coach creaks like an “old galleon” as it rolls along, adding: “It’s not quite a washing machine, but where other vehicles just go from back to front, this is moving from side to side.”

King Charles hasn’t decided to ditch the splendid Gold State Coach, which has been used for every Coronation since 1831, entirely as he will use it for the much grander Coronation Procession following the religious service.

The newly crowned Charles and Camilla will travel the same route back to Buckingham Palace on the magnificently painted carriage as they wave to the thousands of well-wishers, with the King wearing the Imperial State Crown.

It will see them travel around Parliament Square, along Whitehall and Parliament Street as they head towards the Mall via Admiralty Arch.

But it will take much longer than the earlier journey because the historic gilded carriage, which will be drawn by eight Windsor greys, is so heavy at four tonnes it has to travel at walking pace.

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Charles and Camilla’s golden carriage will be followed by other senior members of the Royal Family, including the Princess and Princess of Wales and their three children.

The procession will also feature a cast of hundreds of members of the Armed Forces from the UK, Commonwealth and the British Overseas Territories, as well as the Sovereign’s Bodyguard and Royal Watermen.

The new route is significantly parred back on the previous Coronation, with Queen Elizabeth II’s route scaling an impressive five miles taking her down Piccadilly, along Oxford Street and Regent Street and Haymarket. It took over two hours to complete.

It is understood to have been chosen for practical reasons, being a familiar tried and tested journey for many royal occasions.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “The carriages chosen reflect the smaller procession to the Abbey and the larger procession back to Buckingham Palace. They were the personal choice of Their Majesties.”

Officials have also released key details of the glittering crown jewels and a priceless array of regalia that will entrance the nation during the spectacular event.

It will include the Sovereign’s Orb, the Golden Spurs, bracelets known as Armills, two maces, five symbolic swords, the Sovereign’s Ring, the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross and the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Dove.

The regalia is steeped in history and carry strong religious symbolism, such as sincerity, wisdom, kingly dignity and mercy.

The oldest object in use will be the silver-gilt Coronation Spoon which dates back to 1349. It is the only piece of Royal goldsmiths’ work to survive from the 12th century and will be used for anointing King Charles at the ceremony.

Camilla will be crowned with the modified Queen Mary’s Crown, and will hold the controversial Queen Consort’s Rod with Dove and the Queen Consort’s Sceptre with Cross.

As part of the proceedings, she will receive the Queen Consort’s Ring – a ruby in a gold setting made for the Coronation of King William IV and Queen Adelaide in 1831, and used by three further Queens Consort – Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, and the Queen Mother.

The King will be crowned with the 17th-century St Edward’s Crown which has been resized to fit his head. The stunning crown was made for King Charles II in 1661 and weighs an impressive 2.23kg (nearly 5lbs). It is the most important and sacred of all the crowns and is only used at the moment of crowning itself. Queen Elizabeth II used it in 1953.

Charles will switch to using the lighter Imperial State Crown at the end of the ceremony, as is customary. The impressive gold crown is set with 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls and four rubies.

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