Buckingham Palace Announces Details on King Charles III’s Pared-Down Coronation Ceremony

Update: 1/21/23

Buckingham Palace has released further details on King Charles III's upcoming coronation weekend.

In addition to the ceremony taking place on Saturday, May 6, 2023, the coronation celebration will include two days of "further opportunities for people to come together in celebration of the historic occasion," per a press release.

A Coronation Big Lunch will take place nationwide on Sunday, May 7, followed by a special Coronation Concert to be broadcast live from Windsor Castle's East Lawn by the BBC and BBC Studios. The show will include performances by some of the world's biggest entertainers as well as a Coronation Choir gathered from community choirs throughout the U.K. Details on the lineup and a national ticket ballot have yet to be announced.

The weekend will conclude with a nationwide volunteering event called The Big Help Out, taking place on Monday, May 8, and organized by The Together Coalition and a wide range of partner organizations and faith groups.

Original: 10/11/22

The date is set. Buckingham Palace has announced that the coronation of King Charles III will take place on May 6, 2023.

In a statement shared with media outlets, including BAZAAR.com, a spokesperson confirms that the Saturday ceremony will be held at London's Westminster Abbey and see the monarch crowned alongside Camilla, Queen Consort.

As already speculated, the historic occasion will be pared down compared to predecessors (Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 three-hour ceremony cost the British public £1.57 million, or $1.74 million at the time, and today's equivalent of around $50 million).

With Britain currently in the middle of a cost of living crisis and on the brink of recession, BAZAAR understands that while Charles's coronation will retain the same core religious elements as others before it, the ceremony will be lighter on pomp and opulence in an effort to recognize "the spirit of our times."

Adds the spokesperson, "The coronation will reflect the monarch's role today and look toward the future, while being rooted in long-standing traditions and pageantry."

Westminster Abbey has been the location for coronation ceremonies for the last nine centuries, since 1066; the service is conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

During the service, which will be attended by world leaders and royalty from around the world, King Charles will take the coronation oath and wear the St. Edward's Crown. The most sacred of all the crowns, it's made from 22-carat gold, diamonds, rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnets, topazes, and tourmalines. The monarch will also be "anointed, blessed, and consecrated" by the archbishop.

While today's announcement was sent out to media outlets via email, it is expected that King Charles will soon sign a more traditional and formal proclamation declaring the date of his coronation ceremony during a meeting of the Privy Council later this year.

Many details of Charles's coronation—which has been planned under the code name of Operation Golden Orb—have been mapped out long in advance. Though palace officials remain tight-lipped on further information, sources tell BAZAAR that there has been an emphasis this time around on keeping costs down and appearing "less fussy." This includes King Charles having less outfit changes than previous monarchs, reducing the ceremony length to just one hour, and ditching some of the more time-consuming and extravagant elements, such as the presentation of gold bars.

It was widely expected that Britain will get a public holiday for the coronation of King Charles III, but sources have since confirmed that this won't be the case due it falling on a weekend.

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