King Charles III was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday in a Christian ceremony full of pomp and solemnity, eight months after the death of Elizabeth II.
The culmination of this consecration, prepared without much popular enthusiasm and marked by the arrests of anti-monarchy demonstrators, the Archbishop of Canterbury placed on the head of the 74-year-old sovereign the crown of Saint Edward, in solid gold and set with rubies. .
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LIVE - Follow the coronation of King Charles III
The crowned king.
POOL / REUTERS
Dressed in a simple white linen shirt, the king had shortly before received the anointing on his knees, protected from view by embroidered screens, while
Handel's famous "
Zadok The Priest " resounded.
He reappeared in the eyes of the audience and hundreds of millions of expected television viewers, to put on the "
supertunica
", a silk coat wrapped in fine gold pieces, then the imperial coat, in gold cloth.
The king dressed in the “supertunica”.
Reuters
The king dressed in the imperial mantle.
REUTERS
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With the royal stole over his shoulders, the white leather coronation glove slipped over one hand, a scepter in each hand, the king then received the crown weighing more than two kilos, used for all coronations since 1661.
King Charles III dressed in all the attributes of power.
POOL / REUTERS
"
God Save The King!"
exclaimed the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the first dignitary of the Anglican religion.
Trumpets sounded and cannon shots were heard across the UK or fired from Royal Navy boats at sea. His kneeling heir William then pledged allegiance to his father.
William, heir to the throne, pledges allegiance to his father.
POOL / REUTERS
Camilla, 75, Charles' second wife, was later blessed and crowned.
Camilla crowned.
POOL / REUTERS
“God save the King!”
Charles III became king of the United Kingdom and 14 Commonwealth countries, from Canada to Australia to Jamaica, in September on the death of his mother Elizabeth II, aged 96.
The royal procession passes on the avenue du Mall, framed by the flags of the 14 Commonwealth countries.
POOL / REUTERS
Its coronation, unique in Europe, is the religious confirmation of this and the United Kingdom had not seen one since 1953. If it has been modernized with a shorter duration, representatives of the main religions and gospel sung in addition to the classics, this millennial ritual gave the British monarchy the opportunity to display all the pomp of which it has the secret.
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The king left Buckingham Palace in a six-horse carriage, driving through central London in the rain in front of thousands of loyal royals and a few "Not my
king
"
signs
, unimaginable under his mother.
The royal carriage leaves Buckingham.
TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS
Republican demonstrators protested the coronation of Charles III.
POOL / REUTERS
He walked through the doors of the abbey dressed in the state coat of his grandfather George VI, notably followed by four pages, including his grandson George, followed by the Queen, in ivory robes embroidered with flowers.
The King enters Westminster.
BEN BIRCHALLBen Birchall / POOL / AFP
Prince Harry relegated to third place
Prince William and his wife Kate joined the other members of the royal family, including Prince Harry, relegated to third place and deprived of any official role during this historic day, a consequence of his departure for California in 2020 followed by violent criticism against the palace.
The Royal Family at Westminster.
REUTERS
The king was welcomed as tradition dictates by a child from the royal chapel.
The Archbishop of Canterbury then proceeded with the '
Recognition
', aimed at endorsing the King as the true ruler of the UK and 14 other states.
“
God save King Charles
”, he launched, taken up in chorus by the assistance.
The king takes an oath on the Bible.
RICHARD POHLE / AFP
The king then took the oath on the Bible before the ceremony took place in front of the 2,300 guests, foreign dignitaries such as French President Emmanuel Macron or the wife of American President Jill Biden, celebrities such as actress Judi Dench, representatives of the nobility , political leaders and representatives of civil society.
Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron upon their arrival at Westminster Abbey.
POOL / REUTERS
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