King Charles Coronation - A Lifetime in the Making

AFTER 70 YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE, KING CHARLES FINALLY WEARS THE CROWN. ALL THE DETAILS FROM A CORONATION RICH WITH HISTORY, HEAVY ON FANFARE-AND NOT WITHOUT SOME ROYAL DRAMA

- DAVID WALTERS

Through a steady London rain on the morning of May 6, the pomp and ceremony of King Charles III’s coronation began with a ride in the Diamond Jubilee State coach. The carriage, first used in 2014 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the accession of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, departed from Buckingham Palace at 10:20 a.m.

Escorted by more than 150 members of the British armed forces and cheered on by thousands of damp but decidedly enthusiastic well-wishers, the enclosed horse-drawn coach rolled its way to Westminster Abbey. For Charles, 74, accompanied by his wife of 18 years, Queen Camilla, 75, the ride followed a carefully charted course, winding past landmarks like Trafalgar Square, the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben. At only 1.4 miles, the King’s procession was a relatively short trip—but the culmination of a much longer journey to the throne.

Only 4 years old at the time of his mother’s coronation on June 2, 1953, then-Prince Charles stood by with Job-like patience—a full 70 years—for his turn, making him the longest-serving heir apparent in history. (Officially, Charles became King when Elizabeth died on Sept. 8, 2022, but royal custom calls for the coronation, a joyful occasion, to take place after a period of mourning.)

Given the wait—and increasingly tense family rifts in the wake of Spare, Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir—few would have faulted the monarch for relishing his long-awaited (and literal) crowning moment. But the King set a tone of somber responsibility with his first ceremonial words: “I come here to serve, not to be served.”