King Charles III was crowned by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in a lavish coronation ceremony in London on Saturday, with the 360-year-old St Edward’s Crown placed on the monarch’s head as he sat upon a 14th-century throne in Westminster Abbey.
The king, who succeeded his mother when she died last September, was earlier presented with an array of historical regalia from golden orbs and bejewelled swords to a sceptre holding the world’s largest colourless cut diamond.
He became the 40th reigning sovereign to be crowned at Westminster Abbey, Britain’s coronation church since 1066.
Before the crowning, the archbishop delivered a sermon to the 2,300 guests.
A 21-gun salute sounded at Hillsborough Castle in Co Down, the royal residence in Northern Ireland, to mark the coronation. The cannons were fired at the moment King Charles was crowned, by reservists from the 206 (Ulster) Battery, part of the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery.
After the coronation of Charles, Camilla was the focus of the ceremony and the archbishop performed the ancient ritual of anointing and crowning, then called on the queen consort to be filled with “princely virtues”. The crown was made for Charles’s great-grandmother, Queen Mary, for George V’s coronation in 1911. Camilla’s decision to use Queen Mary’s crown is the first time a consort’s crown has been recycled for a coronation rather than a new one being created.
Irish milliner Philip Treacy fitted the crowns worn by the royal couple, describing it later as “the greatest honour of my career”.
Thousands of people across Northern Ireland followed the ceremony from Westminster Abbey live on public screens including at Belfast City Hall, Ballymena, Larne, Carrickfergus, Bessbrook, Antrim, Jordanstown and Coleraine.
Some 2,300 official guests were invited to attend the coronation at Westminster Abbey, where the service began at 11am. The formalities got under way at 10.20am, when Charles and Camilla set off in the Diamond Jubilee state coach from Buckingham Palace on the 2.09km trip to Westminster Abbey accompanied by several hundred cavalry.
Following the coronation the king and queen left Westminster Abbey in the gold state coach shortly after 1pm for a procession back to Buckingham Palace. They then appeared on the palace balcony to wave to a crowd of thousands of royal fans, who filled the Mall after braving downpours to see a colourful ceremonial military procession.
The royals watched a fly past from the balcony, which was scaled down to include only helicopters and the Red Arrows due to the poor weather.
Among the 100-plus heads of state who attended the event were President Michael D Higgins. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also made the trip, with Ireland believed to be the only country outside of the British Commonwealth with its head of state and head of government invited. Both leaders also attended a reception at Buckingham Palace on Friday night, where they met Charles and Camilla.
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Mr Varadkar said: “We have deep political, economic, cultural and personal links with Britain, which provided a welcome home to so many of our citizens for generations. A vibrant British community actively contributes to life in Ireland in so many ways.
“And, of course, there are many people, in the North especially, who are both British and Irish.
“As we mark the coronation of King Charles III, I look forward to further strengthening British-Irish relations and the friendship between our peoples and look forward to welcoming the royal couple to Ireland in due course.”
Mr Varadkar said the king and queen consort are long-standing friends of Ireland and have been regular visitors to the country, “supporting good bilateral relations, co-operation, peace and reconciliation”.
“I expressed my hope that his regular visits will continue into his reign. I was pleased to accept the invitation to attend the coronation, alongside President Higgins, symbolising the close neighbourly relations between our two countries.
“This is a historic moment for the British people, for the realm, and for their friends around the world.”
To mark the coronation, Mr Higgins and and his wife Sabina asked the Tree Council of Ireland plant a native Irish oak in the woodland forest of Aurora in Co Wicklow. The gesture was an acknowledgment of the king’s interest in environmental sustainability.
The US was represented by first lady Jill Biden, while French president Emmanuel Macron, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Chinese vice-president Han Zheng were among those invited. Russia did not receive an invitation as a result of its invasion of Ukraine.
Members of the royal family led by Prince William, the heir to the throne, also took part in the ceremony. William’s son, George, the next in line, was a page boy. Prince Harry also attended despite a very public falling-out with his family — but his wife Meghan was not present.
Celebrities including Kenneth Branagh, Nick Cave, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Maggie Smith and Emma Thompson earlier shuffled into the Gothic church alongside heads of state and other guests.
During the ceremony the Jewelled Sword of Offering was carried and presented to the monarch by a woman for the first time. The sword was blessed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and presented to the king by the UK’s Lord President of the Council Penny Mordaunt.
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Earlier, London police arrested Graham Smith, leader of an anti-monarchist group Republic, in advance of the coronation, a spokesperson for the group said.
London police chief Mark Rowley had warned on Friday that there would be a “very low tolerance for disruption” on the streets in central London where tens of thousands of people had gathered to watch the royal processions.
Police confirmed “a number of arrests“ on “suspicion of breaching the peace”. In addition, four people were arrested “on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance” and three people “on suspicion of possessing articles to cause criminal damage”.
More than 11,000 police officers were on patrol for the coronation, the biggest ceremonial event staged in the British capital for 70 years.
Pictures posted on social media appeared to show demonstrators in yellow “Not my king” T-shirts, including Mr Smith, having their details taken by officers. In one video, an officer says: “I’m not going to get into a conversation about that – they are under arrest, end of.”