The spectacle1/27/2024 It is worn for ceremonial state occasions, such as the Opening of Parliament. Charles later swapped it out, as is the custom upon departure from the Abbey, for the Imperial Crown featuring 2,868 diamonds. Recently removed from the Crown Jewels display at the Tower of London for this purpose, the St Edward’s Crown - studded with nearly 450 gems - is used only at coronations. The tunic is sentimentally precious to Charles because it was worn by his grandfather, King George VI, at the 1937 coronation.Īrchbishop Justin Welby placed on Charles’ head the 17th-century St Edward’s Crown - which replaced an earlier version melted down by the Roundheads, during Britain’s brief experiment with republicanism. His vestments included the ornately embroidered Robe Royal, made for King George IV’s coronation in 1821, the 15-pound Imperial Robe of State, trimmed with Canadian ermine, the sleeved gold Supertunica coat and the Colobium Sindonis (Latin for “shroud tunic”) - a simple white tunic donned for the most religiously sacred moment of the proceeding, which took place behind a screen so that no one could see, where the Archbishop of Canterbury anointed Charles with chrism blessed in Jerusalem. The 74-year-old King, oldest ever crowned, arrived clad in the Imperial mantle but was required to make a clutch of sartorial quick changes over the next hour. Charles’ grandson, nine-year-old Prince George - second in line to the throne - was a Page of Honour, as proud parents William and Kate looked on. Princess Anne cut a magnificent figure astride her horse, Falkland, changing into uniform as Charles’ Gold-Stick-in-Waiting - a role she described as the sovereign’s “original protection officer” - for the journey back to Buckingham Palace. A mounted RCMP unit, in their crimson serge tunics, had pride of place in the recessional parade. There was still a procession to-and-from that extended for two kilometres, somehow kept in marching and band-playing sync, with upwards of 7,000 troops arrayed by regiment, in ceremonial dress: bearskin hats and gleaming helmets, plumes and feathers, sashes and garters. The Duchess of Sussex, fairly or unfairly, has been demonized in Britain for leading her husband by the nose to America and away from his duties, Harry converting himself into a “non-working” royal, an ersatz celeb whose currency cheapens by the hour.Ĭlearly, Meghan would not dared have shown her face and risked public scorn.Īnyway, that’s all an aside to the extravaganza, however lower-keyed - and shorter - Charles had deliberately orchestrated it. Which everybody knows is just so much bollocks. Unlike wife Meghan, who sent her regrets, remaining at the couple’s California estate with their children, Archie and Lilibet, ostensibly because it was Archie’s fourth birthday Saturday. This wasn’t an olive branch it was scarcely a twig.Īt least he was there, as the King had wished, albeit RSVP-ing after the deadline, leaving courtiers with no time to accommodate his inclusion, no idea really about Harry’s fly-by itinerary. It was the first time the second child of Charles and Diana - the child his mother hoped would be “wingman to William” - had been in the company of father and brother since his Netflix docuseries, “Harry & Meghan,” aired in December and the subsequent publication of his body-slamming memoir, “Spare.” Rapprochement of the rift seems increasingly unlikely. Though most of the world’s inhabitants, spectators to the spectacle, cannot possibly identify with the hallowed rituals and ancient heraldry of coronation, plenty of us can empathize with a family riven by fraught relations, discord and bitterness. The rebellious, erstwhile, endlessly grousing son who abandoned country and clan in an act of stupendous self-ostracism. Erased in so many ways from the pageantry and the historical record of the only coronation many of us will ever witness.
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