LONDON: Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of London on Saturday to witness the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III in a ceremony of pageantry and tradition watched by millions around the world on television and online.
Ninety heads of state, including kings and queens from around the world, attended the ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Some 203 countries were represented in the congregation, according to Buckingham Palace.
Charles, now 74 years old, became heir to the British throne in 1952 at the age of just three, when his mother Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne and was the longest-serving British heir-apparent. Charles officially became king upon her death on September 8 last year.
Charles’ coronation marks a new chapter for an ancient institution.
Historic procession
King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla were taken by horse-drawn carriage from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey on Saturday morning.
Despite occasionally heavy rain, hundreds of thousands of people lined the route of the procession along The Mall and through Whitehall, past the Houses of Parliament, just as they had done eight months ago for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
A small number of protesters briefly drowned out the cheers. Police made several arrests, including members of the anti-monarchy group Republic, and the environmental protest group Just Stop Oil. There was no disruption to the procession.
Inside Westminster Abbey, the congregation of 2,200 people included members of the royal family, foreign kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers, alongside members of the public invited by the king for their charity work. It was a fraction of the 8,000-strong congregation that witnessed Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, reflecting Charles’ desire for what the palace terms a “slimmed-down” monarchy.
Prince Harry, Charles’ youngest son, attended the ceremony alone amid continued strained relations following allegations of racism against his wife Meghan Markle and their son, Prince Archie, which the royal family denies.
(VOA)
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