How King Charles III’s coronation will differ from Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1953 | UK News

While the main event is set to be watched by millions, the celebrations will continue across the weekend, with an extra bank holiday on May 8, and a special Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle, which will air on the BBC on Sunday, May 7.

Expect street parties and other activities across the weekend, including the Big Help Out, which will see people across the country turning their hand to volunteer work for a day on Monday, May 8.

For many, it will be their first chance to witness a coronation, with Queen Elizabeth II’s having happened on June 2, 1953.

But just what will be the main differences between the Queen’s coronation and King Charles III’s?

Here’s what you need to know about how things will differ…

Procession

The Queen travelled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey for the coronation in the Gold State Coach, a journey of around 45 minutes – arriving at the Abbey at 11am for the service to begin at 11.15am.

However, the return journey was a lot longer.

After leaving Westminster Abbey, she took a five-mile route around Central London, which took in Whitehall, Pall Mall, St James’s Street, Piccadilly to Marble Arch along Oxford Street, Regent Street, Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain and Haymarket.

She then passed through Admiralty Arch before arriving back at Buckingham Palace.

Accompanied by The Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry, they’ll set off down The Mall and along the south side of Trafalgar Square.

Then, they’ll turn onto Whitehall and Parliament Street before going around the east and south of Parliament Square to Broad Sanctuary.

They’ll arrive at the Abbey for the start of coronation at 11am, and will return along the same route. 

The Gold State Coach will only be used for the return journey, with the journey there in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, which has shock absorbers.

Coronation service

Queen Elizabeth’s service lasted for over three hours, beginning at 11.15am. She reached the nave by 11.20am, at which point the hymn I Am Glad was sung.

Her Majesty sat in the Coronation Chair – called St Edward’s Chair – for much of the ceremony. It dates back to 1300.

The service ended at 3pm, with Her Majesty and Prince Philip arriving back at Buckingham Palace at 4.30pm.

It’s been reported that King Charles’ service, meanwhile, will be a lot shorter, lasting around an hour.

This may reflect previous reports that the coronation is likely to be a simpler affair, with a service which will ‘reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry’.

Role of the Consort and Royal Family

Prince Philip played a pretty vital role in the Queen’s coronation, acting as the Chair of the Coronation Commission in the months leading up to the event in 1953.

As the Queen’s consort, he was also the first person to pledge allegiance to the Queen following her crowning.

Camilla’s role will be quite different, as she will also be crowned during the ceremony.

for the upcoming ceremony, the Queen Mary crown will be reset with the Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds, which Queen Elizabeth II reportedly had in her personal collection and often wore as brooches.

It has been confirmed that Camilla’s crown will not feature the controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond, despite the jewel originally being a part of it.

Meanwhile, Prince William will kneel and pledge allegiance to his father during the ceremony, by touching the St Edward’s Crown and kissing his right cheek.

Clothing

The Queen famously wore a gown made by designer Norman Hartnell, which was made of white satin and embroidered with the emblems of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in gold and silver thread. 

Charles, meanwhile, reportedly plans to ditch the traditional coronation outfit of silk stockings and breeches, as worn by other monarchs including George V and George VI – in favour of military uniform for the ceremony.

However, it’s likely he will wear the following robes during the ceremony:

• The Robe Of State, worn when entering Westminster Abbey
• The Shroud Tunic, worn during part of the anointing
• The Supertunica, which is worn during the investiture
• The Robe Royal, which the monarch dons during the crowning
• The Imperial Robe, worn at the conclusion of the ceremony

However, the Consort has done so in the past, with Prince Philip wearing a red velvet robe with ermine fur trim and shrug over his shoulders.

Ages

Queen Elizabeth was just 27 years old when she was coronated on June 2 1953, having ascended the throne 14 months earlier following the death of her father King George VI.

Charles is, by contrast, the oldest monarch ever to take the British throne.

He was 73 when he became king on September 8 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth – celebrating his 74th birthday in November.

Camilla, meanwhile, is 75, compared to Prince Philip who was 31 when the Queen was crowned.

As well as being the oldest monarch, Charles was also the first child in British history to witness his mother being coronated.

He was just four years old at the time of the ceremony.

Guests

Queen Elizabeth’s coronation paid host to a huge number of guests, with 8,251 invitees squeezing into Westminster Abbey.

The service was so tightly packed that each guest only had around 18 inches of seating space.

Charles’ coronation will almost certainly offer its attendees more legroom – as around 2,000 people have been invited.

It will only be a flying visit from Prince Harry, however, who has said he will be returning home ahead of the Coronation Concert to celebrate Archie’s fourth birthday.

Royals on the balcony

The Queen was joined by a whole host of family members when she made her appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony in 1953.

They included: Prince Philip, Prince Charles (as we he was known then), Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret, Edward Duke of Kent, Princess Marina, Duchess Of Kent, Mary, the Princess Royal, Princess Alexandra and Alice, the Duchess of Gloucester.

Also present on the balcony were the monarch’s six maids of honour, who were Lady Mary Baillie-Hamilton, Lady Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Lady Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Lady Anne Coke, Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill and Lady Moyra Hamilton.

The Prince and Princess Of Wales will be on the balcony, while their children Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 5, are reportedly making an appearance – with royal fans likely keen for more legendary facial expressions from little Louis, who will have just celebrated his birthday.

Princess Anne, who regularly takes on the most royal engagements out of her family, will join the group with her husband, Sir Tim Laurence.

The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Edward and wife Sophie, who spent much time with the Queen before her death, are also likely to be there.

The Duke of Kent and sister Princess Alexandra, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are also reported to be joining the family on the balcony, to watch the flypast over Buckingham Palace.

Cost

The Queen’s coronation cost £1.57 million – which is the equivalent of £45-£50 million in today’s money.

Charles’ coronation is likely to cost a lot more. According to Operation Golden Orb – the committee of Government members, Church of England representatives and Clarence House staff who have spent years planning the coronation – it could cost as much as £100 million.

This is in spite of claims that the ceremony would be ‘shorter, sooner, smaller, less expensive and more representative of different community groups and faiths’.

Cost of living

The 1950s saw the country still recovering from the effects of World War II, with some food items still rationed.

Although eggs, cream, sweets and chocolate were off the ration list by this point, sugar was still limited until September 1953, and it was the following year before meat rationing ended.

Inflation was also high – around 9% in the years proceeding the coronation – while the average weekly wage was £5.

King Charles’ coronation comes at a time when the UK is in the midst of a cost of living crisis, with inflation at 10.1% in March 2023, and soaring costs on essentials such as food and energy bills – with the energy price cap currently set at £2,500.

Inflation has proved problematic worldwide in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly since Russia invaded Ukraine.

TV coverage

Queen Elizabeth’s coronation was the first ever to be televised and for many people was the first major event they had ever watched on TV.

Over 20m people watched the service at home on TV – many gathering at the houses of friends and family who had a television – while a further 1.5m watched in public places such as pubs and cinemas to see it for themselves.

A further 11m people are said to have listened to the coverage on the radio.

It’s not yet known how many people will watch King Charles’ coronation – but millions around the world are likely to tune in.

In 1953, you could only see it on the BBC as there was no other choice – ITV did not launch until 1955, and Sky News was a lot further off, taking to the airwaves in 1989.

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