About two months ago, King Charles III. was crowned the new king in a pompous ceremony in London. Now he has received that honor again at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. In a renewed coronation he received another crown, a scepter and a new sword.
Why Charles gets a new sword and what it has to do with the Queen
Instead of the more than 500-year-old sword of state that is otherwise used at coronations, the new King Charles received a specially made replacement. The old sword is now so fragile that it can no longer be used. It should not be risked breaking during the ceremony. A new one was commissioned and now also has a special name. The new sword was named after the late Queen and is called “The Elizabeth”. A nice gesture for the heir to the throne, since his mother will also be able to take part in the ceremony.
But the late Queen Elizabeth is also honored elsewhere. Ahead of the actual celebrations, Charles and Queen Camilla unveiled a plaque on the gates of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in loving memory of Elizabeth II, who died on 8 September 2022 at the age of 96. King Charles wore a blue tuxedo and his wife wore a dress with a beige trench coat. Princess Kate also commemorated the Queen with her outfit and wore the jewelry of the deceased at the coronation celebrations.
Not just encouragement for the new king
While Charles honored the late Queen with Camilla, many demonstrators also reached the Royal Mile in Scotland. “Not my King” (Not my King) read the signs of the numerous opponents who wanted to vent in this way against the monarchy. To crack down on the protests, many supporters of the British royal family sang the anthem “God Save The King”. Shortly before the “People’s Procession” the opponents of the monarchy tried to disrupt the celebration. They wanted to draw attention to themselves with boos and signs, but were skilfully ignored by those involved in the celebration.
Transmission halted but Charles’ second coronation goes smoothly
Shortly after 3 p.m. German time, the royals met in front of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, from where they continued to St. Giles Cathedral. Princess Kate shone in her royal blue outfit and once again overshadowed all the other guests. Upon entering the church, boos mixed with cheers could be heard.
Although the live reporting broke off again and again, everything in the church went without any problems. In the ceremony, the king received the “Honours of Scotland”, including “The Elizabeth”. The sword was presented to Charles by Scottish rower Dame Katherine Grainger. This was followed by the scepter of Lady Dorrian and the crown of the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon. But Charles wasn’t really “crowned”. The crown was merely placed in his hands.
After the ceremony, there were a total of 21 cannon shots for the royal couple, but the guests made a sad expression on their faces as they left the church. The reason for this was apparently the continuing shouts of the protesters, which overshadowed the festival. For the subsequent flight show, Charles, Camilla, William and Kate showed themselves to their fans again, despite opponents of the monarchy, and followed the spectacle in front of the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
