Photo courtesy : Hugo Burnand

Westminster - The Coronation in Britain, a solemn religious ceremony that has remained largely unchanged for over a thousand years, will take place at Westminster Abbey, Church of England, in London on Saturday, May 6, 2023, under the direction of the Archbishop of Canterbury. As part of the ceremony, Camilla, Queen Consort, will also be crowned alongside His Majesty The King. The coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort is a time of celebration throughout the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations.

The majority of coronation regalia, such as jewel-encrusted crowns, swords, and scepters, are less than 350 years old. Due to the fact that all crown jewels prior to 1649 were destroyed during the English civil war and Charles I's execution, and their gold and silver were melted down for coinage. One notable exception is the silver-gilt coronation spoon, which is the oldest piece of regalia used. The twelve-hundred-year-old silver spoon will be used to pour the chrism oil used to anoint the new king and queen. Chrism oil used for anointing that was consecrated at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It will be filled within an ampulla made of gold and shaped like an eagle with its wings spread. On the silver spoon, the oil is poured. This was used for King Charles II's coronation in 1661. According to a legend from the fourteenth century, the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Thomas Becket and presented him with a golden eagle and a vial of oil for anointing future English kings.

During the Coronation Service, the King will be crowned with St. Edward's Crown, per tradition. At her 1953 coronation, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth wore this crown. This crown was made for Charles II in 1661 as a replacement for the medieval crown belonging to Edward the Confessor, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, which had been melted down in 1649. This crown, which consists of a solid gold frame set with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, topazes, tourmaline and a velvet cap with an ermine band, is not an exact replica of the crown with the melted medieval design.

At the conclusion of the coronation ceremony, the St. Edward's Crown is replaced by the Imperial State Crown. In 1937, this crown was created for George VI, the father of the late Queen Elizabeth II. He was the last Emperor of India from 1936 until August 1947, when the British Raj was dissolved. Made with 2,868 diamonds, including the 317.4-carat Cullinan II, 17 sapphires, including St. Edward's sapphire, 11 emeralds, and 269 pearls, as well as the 14th-century Black Prince ruby, which legend has it was worn by Henry V to hold his helmet plume during the Battle of Agincourt.

Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the disputed Kohinoor diamond will not be used for the coronation. Camilla will instead wear Queen Mary's 1911-made crown, which belonged to Charles's great-grandmother. Since 1727, this is the first time a previous queen's crown has been reused. At the coronation of King George V in 1911, the crown contained the Koh-i-Noor, Cullinan III, and Cullinan IV diamonds, which were later replaced with quartz crystal replicas. These diamonds were utilised in unconventional settings. The Koh-i-Noor was transferred to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's crown, and Cullinan III and IV were mounted as a brooch. The ownership of the Koh-i-Noor, one of the world's largest cut diamonds, has been contested, and diplomatic tensions with India are feared if it had been used. A spokesman for India's ruling party under Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated to a British newspaper last year that the coronation of Camilla and the use of the crown jewel Kohinoor evokes painful memories of the colonial era.

The royal couple will arrive at Westminster Abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach and return to Buckingham Palace in the 18th-century Gold State Coach. The Diamond Jubilee State Coach's Key Features are truly remarkable. This coach was formerly referred to as the State Coach Britannia, is a six-horse carriage created to celebrate the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. By incorporating material from Britain's historic buildings, ships, and other artifacts, the coach embodies the nation's heritage and history. It contains artifacts associated with more than 30 kings and queens of England, Scotland, and Ireland, the most influential figures in British history, her greatest victories, her most cherished locations, and her greatest contributions to the world. The coach weighs 2.75 tonnes and is 18 feet long (5.5 metres) and 11 feet tall (3.4 m). It includes sections on Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale, and others. In addition to that there are timbers from The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Edinburgh Castle, Balmoral Castle, Canterbury Cathedral, Kensington Palace, Salisbury Cathedral, St. George's Chapel, Stirling Castle, Westminster Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral, Windsor Castle, York Minster, etc

The Gold State Coach is a magnificent piece of living British history. Since 1831, it has been used at every coronation. The coach is made of gilt wood, not solid gold, and is covered with a thin layer of gold leaf. The enormous coach is seven metres long, 3.6 metres tall, weighs four tonnes, and is drawn by eight horses. Due to its age and weight, it is never driven faster than a walking pace. On her Coronation Day in 1953, Queen Elizabeth II used it to travel from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey and back. As the day was unseasonably cold and wet, it has been reported that Royal Mews staff strapped a hot water bottle underneath each seat. The Gold State Coach is the United Kingdom's third-oldest surviving coach.

Coronation Regalia have been an integral part of Coronation Services for centuries. Two silver-gilt-over-oak ceremonial emblems of authority dating between 1660 and 1695 are maces. The State Sword, a symbol of royal authority. The Sword of Temporal Justice, emblematic of the Monarch's position as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The Sword of Spiritual Justice, representing the Monarch as the Faith's Defender. The Sword of Mercy and the Curtana, whose blunted tip symbolises the Sovereign's mercy, are two examples of Coronation Regalia. In 1626, the swords were first used at King Charles I's coronation. The golden St. Edward's Staff was connected to a relic of Edward the Confessor.

The Sovereign's Orb, which represented the power of the Sovereign and the Christian world, was made of gold in the seventeenth century. The Sovereign's Ring consists of a sapphire with a diamond-set ruby cross. As a symbol of kingly dignity, the ring was created for King William IV's coronation in 1831, and all Sovereigns since King Edward VII have worn it at their Coronations. Two Sovereign's Sceptres with Cross symbolises the sovereign's temporal power and is associated with effective administration. It consists of a gold rod topped by a heart-shaped structure covered in enamel that holds the Cullinan I diamond. The Cullinan I was added in 1901. This item was created for King Charles II. The Sovereign's Sceptre with Dove, also known as the "Rod of Justice and Mercy," symbolises the Sovereign's spiritual role, with the enameled dove with spread wings representing the Holy Spirit. It was born in 1661.