Buckingham Palace has revealed some details regarding the coronation ceremony of King Charles III as King of Britain, scheduled for the sixth of next month. The palace stated that Charles and his wife Camilla would head to Westminster Abbey, where the ceremony will take place, in the latest royal carriage, the Diamond Jubilee carriage, which was designed to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne and was used for the first time in 2014.
The palace explained that Charles' coronation will be a ceremony marked by grandeur and tradition, steeped in a thousand-year history. The duration of the ceremony is expected to be shorter than that of the late Queen Elizabeth’s coronation 70 years ago. The event will differ somewhat from the late Queen’s coronation in 1953, particularly in scale, partially in accordance with modern times and reflecting the current cost-of-living crisis.
After the ceremony, Charles and Camilla will return to Buckingham Palace in a procession that will be larger than their trip to the abbey but will cover approximately one-third of the distance that Elizabeth traveled, which was 7.2 kilometers when millions lined the streets to watch. During their return to Buckingham, Charles and Camilla will use the oldest royal carriage, the gilded state coach, which is 260 years old and has been used in every coronation ceremony since King William IV in 1831; it was first used by George III to attend the official opening of Parliament in 1762 when he was still the king of the American colonies under Britain.
The carriage is seven meters long, 3.6 meters high, and weighs four tons, requiring eight horses to pull it. Sally Goodsir, the curator of decorative arts in the Royal Collection, noted that “because of its (the carriage’s) size, it can only be used at a slow pace similar to walking, which enhances the majesty and grandeur of this grand royal procession.”
However, the late Queen Elizabeth described her journey from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in that carriage as "horrifying" in a documentary broadcast in 2018, stating that it was not very comfortable.
