Top 12 Moments at the Coronation of King Charles III

His wife, Princess Catherine of Wales (known as Kate), and his children, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, also were highly visible at the ceremony; the children were especially beloved by the cameras. Will and Kate were draped in bedecked blue royal robes. 

Princess Charlotte and the Catherine, Princess of Wales during the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on May 6, 2023 in London, England.

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Princess Kate and Princess Charlotte are twinsies

Kate was wearing a white Alexander McQueen dress beneath her robe; Charlotte was wearing a McQueen white dress, too, with a white cape. She wore a silver floral headpiece in her hair similar to her mother’s floral tiara.  

Prince Louis yawns during the coronation ceremony.

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Louis was a little sleepy

The little prince was seen yawning widely at one point, though he was paying attention enough to point something out to Charlotte above their heads while they were seated in the abbey.

During the service, Louis disappeared for a brief period, as planned due to his age. But onlookers were impressed he was there for as long as he was. Last summer, during the late queen’s Platinum Jubilee events, he was something of a cut-up who had to be gently restrained by his parents.

(left to right) Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis hold hands.

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Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis adorably hold hands

At one point, Charlotte and Louis were seen holding hands as they stood in the abbey behind their parents. And George, wearing a scarlet uniform for his role as a page of honor, was spotted making funny faces or with his tongue out.  

The family returned to the palace after the ceremony in the second carriage after the king and queen’s coach.

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during the coronation ceremony.

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The ceremony had modern touches

An obvious distinction of this coronation is the diversity of the people watching and participating inside the abbey, including the gospel choir and the various people of color chosen to carry important symbols of state or read from the Bible.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the first-ever non-Christian head of government in British history (he is a Hindu), read from the first chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians, declaring unceasing prayer for the king. 

At the end of the ceremony, in an unprecedented gesture to acknowledge 21st-century Britain’s religious diversity, the king received a greeting from leaders and representatives of major non-Christian religious communities. 

“We unite with people of all faiths and beliefs in thanksgiving, and in service with you for the common good,” the leaders told the king.

King Charles III during his coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey on May 6, 2023 in London, England.

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‘I come to serve’: A new dialogue

One of the first signs that this would be an updated coronation ritual, one fashioned by the king himself, was the greeting after the king and queen entered the abbey and processed up the aisle. A little boy, a Chapel Royal chorister, welcomed the king “in the name of the King of Kings.” 

Charles responded, “In his name and after his example I come not to be served but to serve.” 

This little encounter is a new addition to the coronation ceremony, reflecting the king’s effort to demonstrate that the monarchy serves the people and not the other way around. 

‘I am willing’

A key part of the coronation ceremony is the king’s swearing the Coronation Oath to uphold and protect the law and the Protestant religion of the United Kingdom. Charles’ oath included a promise to “foster an environment in which people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury said: “The Coronation Oath has stood for centuries and is enshrined in law. Are you willing to take the oath?” “I am willing,” the king replied.

An anointing screen is erected for Britain's King Charles III during the Coronation Ceremony inside Westminster Abbey in central London on May 6, 2023.

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The most sacred moment was hidden behind a screen

Following tradition, including his mother’s 1953 coronation, Charles chose to be anointed — the most sacred part of the ceremony — with consecrated oil from Jerusalem, shielded from cameras behind a newly designed three-sided embroidered screen open only to the high altar in the abbey.

Behind it, the archbishop poured the holy oil from a gold ampulla shaped like an eagle into the 12th-century coronation spoon and made a sign of the cross on the king’s hands, breast and head. (The same ritual was performed on Queen Camilla, but her anointing was not screened.) Once the symbol of the idea that monarchs ruled by divine right, today it confirms that the British monarch is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Held by poles made from an ancient Windsor oak and mounted with gilded eagles, the screen combines traditional and contemporary sustainable embroidery practices to reflect the king’s affection for the Commonwealth, according to Buckingham Palace. The screen’s design takes the form of a tree, including the names of the 56 Commonwealth nations with the king’s cypher at the base. The design is inspired by the stained-glass sanctuary window in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace. 

Princess Anne, Princess Royal rides on horseback behind the gold state coach carrying the newly crowned King and Queen Consort as they travel down The Mall during the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on May 06, 2023 in London, England.

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Who was the Gold Stick?

The king’s sister and the late queen’s only daughter, Princess Anne the Princess Royal, 72, played a special role as the only royal on horseback, leading the procession of thousands of military personnel directly behind the Gold State Coach carrying the king and queen back to Buckingham Palace after the ceremony. 

Anne, widely acknowledged as the hardest-working royal, carrying out hundreds of engagements a year, has been Gold Stick in Waiting since 1998, an antique position referring to those (men) who acted as bodyguards of the monarch. 

The British Royal Air Force's (RAF) aerobatic team, the "Red Arrows", perform a fly-past over Admiralty Arch in central London on May 6, 2023, after the coronations of Britain's King Charles III and Britain's Queen Camilla.

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The breathtaking balcony scene

Prior to the day, the palace refused to disclose who would appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony with the newly crowned king and queen. As might have been expected, only 15 members of his family were there, all of them working royals. Consequently, neither Prince Harry nor Prince Andrew (the king’s 63-year-old brother, who had been embroiled in controversy) was there, as neither is a working royal.

The balcony gathering is traditional at major royal events, to wave to the crowds, acknowledge the cheers and watch the military aircraft fly-past trailing British red, white and blue.