Charles III: Coronation Information and Musings - Part 1

[Denville]

Woulndt a coronet and a tiara be over kill and downright painful to wear?

 

[Curryong]

Probably. But both were worn by peeresses and royal ladies apart of course from Queen Consorts, at the Coronations of 1902, 1911, and 1937, and in 1953. Don’t know about earlier, though I would imagine they were.

 

[Alison H]

Wearing a coronet and a tiara together looks/sounds very uncomfortable!

One of the most important features of monarchy is the pomp, the splendour, the glamour, and another is the link to history - many aspects of the Coronation ceremony go back to the days of King Edgar. These are difficult economic times due to the war in Ukraine and the government debt incurred as a result of the Covid lockdown support programmes, but that doesn't mean that people want to see a few blokes in suits and women in everyday skirts and blouses.


The King is descended from both the English and Scottish royal families. He is descended from Henry VII via Margaret Tudor, and her husband James IV. Come to that, he's descended from medieval Welsh princes as well.

I understand that he wants to slim things down and make cutbacks, but there has to be a balance. We don't want to lose 1,000 plus years of history in the name of "slimming down".

 

[muriel]

Same here. And I don't expect to see the velvet robes either. Actually, I'm preparing myself to a coronation without even tiaras.

My guess is that tiaras will only be worn by the immediate members of the royal family.

> The two who will most certainly, IMO, wear tiaras are Camilla, who I suspect may go to the Abbey in the George IV diadem and Catherine.

> I expect Meghan, Sophie and Anne will wear tiaras.

> I suspect Beatrice, Eugenie and Zara will not wear tiaras.

 

[TLLK]

My guess is that tiaras will only be worn by the immediate members of the royal family.

> The two who will most certainly, IMO, wear tiaras are Camilla, who I suspect may go to the Abbey in the George IV diadem and Catherine.

> I expect Meghan, Sophie and Anne will wear tiaras.

> I suspect Beatrice, Eugenie and Zara will not wear tiaras.

If Camilla is comfortable in the George IV diadem, then IMO it would be a splendid and regal choice for her to wear to Westminster Abbey.

 

[muriel]

If Camilla is comfortable in the George IV diadem, then IMO it would be a splendid and regal choice for her to wear to Westminster Abbey.

QE2 set the precedent, and I hope Camilla continues with it.

 

[Curryong]

That is an interesting question.

The coronation, as we have seen recently, is not necessary for the King to ascend the throne. However, the Coronation Oath Act 1688 requires that certain oaths be administered by the Archbishop of Canterbury to all Kings or Queens "at their respective coronation" and that requirement is reiterated in S.2 of the Act of Settlement 1701 .

My understanding then is that, although the coronation does not affect the succession to the Crown, it is still mandated by British law. To do away with the coronation, I believe Parliament would have to repeal the Coronation Act 1688 and amend S.2 of the Act of Settlement 1701.

Just my opinion of course.

I know that King William IV (‘Silly Billy’) did his best to wriggle out of having a Coronation in 1830. In contrast to his brother George he hated pomp and ceremony and ironically he protested long and hard about the expense. He was disappointed when told the ceremony had to be held, refused the traditional Coronation Banquet, and later when the Houses of Parliament burned down in 1834 he tried to palm BP off as a meeting place for Parliament!

 

[kimebear]

My guess is that tiaras will only be worn by the immediate members of the royal family.

> The two who will most certainly, IMO, wear tiaras are Camilla, who I suspect may go to the Abbey in the George IV diadem and Catherine.

> I expect Meghan, Sophie and Anne will wear tiaras.

> I suspect Beatrice, Eugenie and Zara will not wear tiaras.

Beatrice and Eugenie are Princesses of the Blood, and Meghan is no more a working royal than they are. If the younger generation is eschewing tiaras then I would imagine that Meghan will also be told to not wear one.

 

[Sister Morphine]

Beatrice and Eugenie are Princesses of the Blood, and Meghan is no more a working royal than they are. If the younger generation is eschewing tiaras then I would imagine that Meghan will also be told to not wear one.

The difference is one is the daughter-in-law of the king, the others are nieces.

 

[Curryong]

Meghan is the King’s daughter in law. Beatrice and Eugenie are his nieces. That’s the difference.

 

[kimebear]

The difference is one is the daughter-in-law of the king, the others are nieces. Meghan is the third lady of the land right now behind her stepmother-in-law and sister-in-law. She is on the same level as Catherine, so if she wears a tiara to the coronation, I would expect Meghan to do so as well.

Except, as we saw during the Queen's funeral ceremonies and the official palace website, the Sussexs have been given a royal downgrade when it comes to official placements.


If King Charles is going to make a decorum statement with the downscaling of his coronation, then don't be surprised to see Meghan getting treated differently from Catherine.

 

[Curryong]

Harry and Meghan were seated next to the Wales’s at the commitment ceremony at St George’s and directly behind the King and Queen at the funeral at WA.

Why on earth would King Charles ‘make a decorum statement’ about anything?

 

[Sister Morphine]

Look, the Sussexes are like Voldemort in Harry Potter. You can't talk about them, you can't reference them, you can't even wave a stick in their general direction. Shame on me for even responding to a post that mentioned one of them.

 

[kimebear]

Why on earth would King Charles ‘make a decorum statement’ about anything?

'Making a statement' doesn't always mean a verbal or written one. You can 'make a statement' by actions or implications.


Charles is very intent on downsizing and modernizing. If large chunks of a traditional coronation are being thrown out the window, there are obviously going to be other changes as well.


It would be very cold to deny Beatrice, Eugenie and even Zara and Louise the trappings of their birthrights at a once in a lifetime occasion like this and give them to someone who has made no secret of how much she dislikes the royal family.

 

[Curryong]

I doubt very very much that Zara and Lady Louise will be wearing tiaras. As for all the other royals, we will just have to wait and see. However I do expect to see both the King’s daughters in law in tiaras.

 

[kimebear]

I doubt very very much that Zara and Lady Louise will be wearing tiaras. As for all the other royals, we will just have to wait and see. However I do expect to see both the King’s daughters in law in tiaras.

I'm hoping that the downsizing for the monarchy that King Charles desires isn't arbitrary.

If it is going to be limited to working royals, then so be it. But if it's not, then let all the royal women shine at the coronation. It's not as if there are dozens of them like royal families of yesteryear.

 

[Mirabel]

If it is going to be limited to working royals, then so be it. But if it's not, then let all the royal women shine at the coronation. It's not as if there are dozens of them like royal families of yesteryear.

That is what I am hoping for: that all the women wear tiaras.

There are very few occasions when they can do so; a coronation should be one of them! There are plenty in the vaults, so why not?

 

[kimebear]

That is what I am hoping for: that all the women wear tiaras.

There are very few occasions when they can do so; a coronation should be one of them! There are plenty in the vaults, so why not?

Agree completely. Even if the presence and regalia of the Peers is stripped down, let the extended royal family shine. King Charles could reign for twenty-five years or more with his parents' genes.

Plenty of bling in the vaults to loan out and make it a truly glittering occasion.

 

[muriel]

It would be very cold to deny Beatrice, Eugenie and even Zara and Louise the trappings of their birthrights at a once in a lifetime occasion like this and give them to someone who has made no secret of how much she dislikes the royal family.

I do not believe it is the "trappings of their birthrights". The coronation is not about them, it is about the King and Queen. The rest are incidental to the monarch and consort.

That said, I can see your broader point about the irony of having Meghan present, and in a key position, higher in precedence to the nieces and nephews of the King.

 

[irish_royalist]

Except, as we saw during the Queen's funeral ceremonies and the official palace website, the Sussexs have been given a royal downgrade when it comes to official placements.


If King Charles is going to make a decorum statement with the downscaling of his coronation, then don't be surprised to see Meghan getting treated differently from Catherine.

Do you know anything about British Royalty? Of course the Princess of Wales will be treated differently from the Duchess of Sussex. No matter your opinion of both ladies, that is how this works!

 

[kimebear]

Do you know anything about British Royalty? Of course the Princess of Wales will be treated differently from the Duchess of Sussex. No matter your opinion of both ladies, that is how this works!

If you were to read my comment a little more clearly, then you would realize that I was making the point that they would be treated differently, not the reverse.

No need to be so rude.

 

[TLLK]

I wonder if the foreign royals in attendance will be following a dress code similar to the one seen in The Netherlands? The long gowns and hats would be lovely.

 

[Somebody]

Woulndt a coronet and a tiara be over kill and downright painful to wear?

Apparently, the coronets are put on by the ladies after the queen has been crowned - which happens after the crowning and homage to the king. At least, that's what I read in the 1937-service that Tatiana Maria linked to.

 

[Somebody]

In terms of the tiara discussion; I can see them making a difference between royal highnesses and non-royal highnesses within the family - but excluding Beatrice and Eugenie while all other royal highnesses wear tiaras seems very unlikely. It will be interesting to see whether Zara, Louise and Sarah (Chatto) wear a tiara.

 

[muriel]

In terms of the tiara discussion; I can see them making a difference between royal highnesses and non-royal highnesses within the family - but excluding Beatrice and Eugenie while all other royal highnesses wear tiaras seems very unlikely. It will be interesting to see whether Zara, Louise and Sarah (Chatto) wear a tiara.

I am not expecting to see Beatrice, Eugenie, Louise, Zara or Sarah Chatto in tiaras at the coronation.

 

[muriel]

I guess the other question that will raise its head in the not too distant future is whether Andrew will be present or not.

 

[kimebear]

I guess the other question that will raise its head in the not too distant future is whether Andrew will be present or not.

At one time, I might have thought it was a 'damned if you do and damned if you don't' type of situation, but after everything that's happened does anyone really want Andrew there?

He hasn't been removed from the official monarchy website, but really, isn't it just a matter of time? He's burned just about all of his bridges and he no longer has the Queen around to run interference.

 

[FigTree]

At one time, I might have thought it was a 'damned if you do and damned if you don't' type of situation, but after everything that's happened does anyone really want Andrew there?

He hasn't been removed from the official monarchy website, but really, isn't it just a matter of time? He's burned just about all of his bridges and he no longer has the Queen around to run interference.

It’s his brother. I don’t know what kind of relationship he has with Charles and William but he seems very involved with the rest of the family. He and Fergie were extremely involved with the Queen and the others.

 

[FigTree]

In terms of the tiara discussion; I can see them making a difference between royal highnesses and non-royal highnesses within the family - but excluding Beatrice and Eugenie while all other royal highnesses wear tiaras seems very unlikely. It will be interesting to see whether Zara, Louise and Sarah (Chatto) wear a tiara.

I can’t see any at all. None of those ladies have any of their own. They’d need to borrow. Easy enough for Zara…get from Mum but the others are hold have to from Charles. Part of me just doesn’t see this being some big ball gown, ermine, crowns thing. There won’t be any ermine anyway they’d have to kill them all and apparently the ones from 70 years ago will have disintegrated.

Do you put Charlotte I’m a little tiara, coronet thing like E and M had at their fathers coronation?

 

[JR76]

I can’t see any at all. None of those ladies have any of their own. They’d need to borrow. Easy enough for Zara…get from Mum but the others are hold have to from Charles. Part of me just doesn’t see this being some big ball gown, ermine, crowns thing. There won’t be any ermine anyway they’d have to kill them all and apparently the ones from 70 years ago will have disintegrated.

Do you put Charlotte I’m a little tiara, coronet thing like E and M had at their fathers coronation?

Lady Sarah has the brooches that she wore as a tiara for her wedding. If she wanted to she could probably do it again.