Charles III: Coronation Information and Musings - Part 1

[Toledo]

not so much. maybe New years day, or Easter Monday

Thanks Denville,
I was curious on how the same words, bank holiday, was used for separate occasions when you engage in conversation with fellow UK forum members. Without checking my calendar, banks here open in certain holidays. When I was working in government we knew if we had a state holiday ourselves banks would be open and if it was a federal holiday, they would be closed in our states, too.

 

[Alison H]

We tend to talk about the early May Bank Holiday (for May Day, but on the next Monday), the late May Bank Holiday (Whit) and the August Bank Holiday. Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day are called by their names.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

The Duchess of Portland was one of four canopy bearers to Queen Alexandra during the 1902 Coronation of King Edward VII.
Will Queen Camilla have any canopy bearers?

 

[Curryong]

I doubt it. I think any extra pomp and ceremony is likely to be cut to the bone in the next Coronation.

 

[Blog Real]

I still have hope that most traditions will be maintained at the coronation of King Charles III. But I'm very curious to watch this coronation.

 

[FigTree]

We tend to talk about the early May Bank Holiday (for May Day, but on the next Monday), the late May Bank Holiday (Whit) and the August Bank Holiday. Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day are called by their names.

The UL comparatively has very few public holidays. But as a child I had no idea Good Friday or any of those were bank holidays. Of course most are still linked to old religious and pagan seasonal events.

 

[tommy100]

All UK bank holidays are in the school holidays usually - only the Early May Bank Holiday isn't. The others all fall when schools are usually already off - Christmas and Easter breaks, half term for the late May and the summer holidays for the August Bank Holiday. The only Bank Holidays take off is the Early May Bank Holiday - first Monday in May.

The bank holidays do all have names but they are all pretty descriptive - "Early May Bank Holiday". Part of the issue is in the UK Bank Holidays are either an important date already - Christmas day, Boxing Day etc or are fixed on a certain Monday in the year so have become somewhat disassociated from their original purpose - e.g. the Early May Bank Holiday was fixed as the first Monday in May to mark May Day rather than having the 1st of May on whatever day it fell as Bank Holiday.

With the Queen's Jubilee, the Queen's state funeral this year and Charles' coronation next year I think we'll feel short changed in 2024 when we are one bank holiday less!

 

[Iluvbertie]

I still have hope that most traditions will be maintained at the coronation of King Charles III. But I'm very curious to watch this coronation.

I wonder how 'most traditions' can be maintained when over 2/3rs of The Queen's coronation service have to be cut to fit into the one hour limit and to crown a new Queen.

It seems like it will be very much a 'Coronation Light' moving I suspect to ending the entire coronation and be more like the Europeans who have already thrown away those traditions.

 

[Toledo]

I wonder how 'most traditions' can be maintained when over 2/3rs of The Queen's coronation service have to be cut to fit into the one hour limit and to crown a new Queen.

It seems like it will be very much a 'Coronation Light' moving I suspect to ending the entire coronation and be more like the Europeans who have already thrown away those traditions.

I would be disappointed if a grand event like King Charles' coronation ends up edited like a hair products infomercial, 60 minutes plus ads.

I don't want a 'Coronation Light' because at my age it might be the last big one I see. Give me all the calories and carbs pomp and circumstance can fit on a TV. Horses, carriages, tiaras and choirs, hopefully not in the same room at the throne room but still, make it spectacular for Charles. He has waited for so long he deserves a big show.

 

[FigTree]

I would be disappointed if a grand event like King Charles' coronation ends up edited like a hair products infomercial, 60 minutes plus ads.

I don't want a 'Coronation Light' because at my age it might be the last big one I see. Give me all the calories and carbs pomp and circumstance can fit on a TV. Horses, carriages, tiaras and choirs, hopefully not in the same room at the throne room but still, make it spectacular for Charles. He has waited for so long he deserves a big show.

There won’t be any adds as the BBC are running it. Despite what foreign networks are doing. I don’t think Charles likes much of that old fashioned pomp. But all the historical and important rituals will be there…they will just package it for the modern era.
Ikes

 

[VictoriaB]

I would be disappointed if a grand event like King Charles' coronation ends up edited like a hair products infomercial, 60 minutes plus ads.

I don't want a 'Coronation Light' because at my age it might be the last big one I see. Give me all the calories and carbs pomp and circumstance can fit on a TV. Horses, carriages, tiaras and choirs, hopefully not in the same room at the throne room but still, make it spectacular for Charles. He has waited for so long he deserves a big show.

But - the cost. To put on a show like the Queen's coronation is going to be horrendously expensive and it will be British, not American, not Australian, not Canadian tax payers who pay for it.

I know times were tough in 1953 and 1937 but attitudes to the monarchy were much more deferential then and the British population were more likely to accept money being spent on the spectacle back then than they are now.

I hope its not as pared back as Iluvbertie has been suggesting in her posts but its just not going to be 1953 redux.

As for the King's wishes, who's to say he wants a 3 hour coronation service. Maybe he wants to get in and out.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Here is a photograph of Queen Elizabeth II with her Maids of Honour and Mistresses of the Robes.
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/s...r-Maids-of-Honour-and-Mistresses-of-the-Robes
Will Queen Camilla have a photograph taken with her Mistresses of the Robes?

 

[CyrilVladisla]

In the Coronation service of King Edward VII the coronation sermon had been omitted.
Will there be a coronation sermon in the Coronation service of King Charles III?

 

[wbenson]

I would be very surprised if there were any lengthy additions to the service.

 

[Friedrich Karl II]

I would be very surprised if there were any lengthy additions to the service.

I think that coronation ceremony will be as short as possible. Charles is not young anymore and much older than his mother was during her coronation so I would expect that they are not keeping that unnecessary long.

 

[Elan]

I don't want a 'Coronation Light' because at my age it might be the last big one I see. Give me all the calories and carbs pomp and circumstance can fit on a TV. Horses, carriages, tiaras and choirs, hopefully not in the same room at the throne room but still, make it spectacular for Charles. He has waited for so long he deserves a big show.

If there are no horses, I am done...

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/408631366162077871/

 

[victor1319]

Yeah, this is a really exiting question: Will it be a humble coronation due to the economical crisis and the inflation, of which some say, it makes the folks eat dog food and that they don't heat and are very frugal with electric lightning?

I have no idea, if all this suffering is really happening in such a hard way. But this is not the point! The point is, that the Ususal Suspects might use this purported suffering as an angle to attack the system and foremost the Royals.

In my mind British ceremonies are not that pompous - but...

And what is with the Crown? Is this decided already, which Crown will be used? Because the real "big" crowns surely contain colonial diamonds... Perhaps would be a new crown cooler - or one that is older than the colonialism. A Tudor crown perhaps?

 

[Iluvbertie]

I don't think there are any crowns pre-1660. If my memory serves there is only one spoon from before Cromwell still in existence. Cromwell broke up and sold the existing Crown Jewels. One person bought a spoon and when Charles II was restored returned it to the King but all the other Crown Jewels now are post-restoration so no Tudor or Plantagenet jewels available.

 

[Durham]

No English ones only the Scottish crown.

 

[Mirabel]

And what is with the Crown? Is this decided already, which Crown will be used? Because the real "big" crowns surely contain colonial diamonds... Perhaps would be a new crown cooler - or one that is older than the colonialism. A Tudor crown perhaps?

A new crown would generate more criticism for unnecessary expenditure during troubled economic times.

And if the coronation is too subdued, it won't bring out the tourists.

 

[Mbruno]

A new crown would generate more criticism for unnecessary expenditure during troubled economic times.

And if the coronation is too subdued, it won't bring out the tourists.

I don't think "bringing out the tourists" is a major concern in the UK. Although tourism makes an important contribution to GDP, the UK has a big and diversified economy and does not depend on tourism to survive.

In particular, I find it annoying when some Americans (not your case) assume or claim that the reason why the UK keeps the monarchy is that "it is good for tourism", or, in an even more pretentious way, that it "draws American tourists". That is ludicrous.

 

[victor1319]

I don't think there are any crowns pre-1660. If my memory serves there is only one spoon from before Cromwell still in existence. Cromwell broke up and sold the existing Crown Jewels.

Oh, really? That is a shame! I did not know that. I have just some childhood memories of visiting the Tower of London - and there was a lot of glitzy stuff in a very dark cellar or something.

The ravens were the best and one chinese(?) sword.

Anyway... So, a new one perhaps? I heard there are now synthetic diamonds and the only difference to mined diamonds is, that the synthetic diamonds are even more perfect. Perhaps a new Crown sparsely decorated with synthetic but very big diamonds? This would symbolize a traditional yet high-tech country.

 

[Iluvbertie]

I don't think they will make a new crown. They have enough crowns now and some with some amazing history and significance. Most of the jewels are fine so it wouldn't be too hard to replace the 'doubtful' ones with existing stones if necessary.

 

[Durham]

Oh, really? That is a shame! I did not know that. I have just some childhood memories of visiting the Tower of London - and there was a lot of glitzy stuff in a very dark cellar or something.

The ravens were the best and one chinese(?) sword.

Oh yes I'm afraid so. Cromwell was nothing if not ruthless & efficient when it came to dealing with the monarchy.

Though he did maintain & use Hampton Court & to his credit saved the great set of Abraham tapestries at the palace. As well as the Raphael Cartoons when most of the rest of Charles I's glorious art collection was sold off.

 

[VictoriaB]

https://www.royal.uk/coronation-crowns

St Edward’s crown has been removed from the Tower of London for resizing ahead of the coronation.

 

[JGio]

So glad he sticks to tradition despite the times have changed.
Hope he will keep the ceremony dresscode as well. Cannot imagine a State Banquet being more formal than The Coronation.

 

[Blog Real]

https://www.royal.uk/coronation-crowns

St Edward’s crown has been removed from the Tower of London for resizing ahead of the coronation.

Thankfully, King Charles III will keep some traditions and will wear the crown. I hope that all European royal families and some from the rest of the world will attend the coronation.
I am very curious to attend this coronation.

 

[Durham]

Thankfully, King Charles III will keep some traditions and will wear the crown. I hope that all European royal families and some from the rest of the world will attend the coronation.
I am very curious to attend this coronation.

Presumably heirs apparent or the next most senior representative. Maybe queen consorts?

This is off topic & probably belongs elsewhere but I only recently discovered that no one from the Thai rf attended the late queen's funeral. Does anyone know why?

 

[Denville]

Did the Thai Monarch attend ELiz II's coronation? (or some member of his family)

 

[SirGyamfi1]

Presumably heirs apparent or the next most senior representative. Maybe queen consorts?

This is off topic & probably belongs elsewhere but I only recently discovered that no one from the Thai rf attended the late queen's funeral. Does anyone know why?

It’s possible that they had some events that day or they simply weren’t invited. Or maybe they were invited but didn’t go.