Binghamton University professor Andrew Walkling in his office.
The upcoming coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on May 6 will be a historic event viewed by millions. After months of preparation, Charles will be officially crowned and sworn in as the 62nd monarch of the Commonwealth.
Binghamton University Professor Andrew Walkling, historian of the British Royal Court, is one of many looking forward to the next great ceremonial event in Britain. He offered some details on the coronation, what to expect, what has changed, why you should watch and how the ceremony reflects the current state of royalty.
Professor of English literature, art history and theatre, Walkling was originally trained as a historian. His work focuses on the British Royal Court, specifically the late 17th century. Walkling studies the way in which the royal court used various cultural materials — such as literature, poetry, writing, painting, architecture, music and theatrical performance — to convey ideas about royal power. These aspects will be on full display in the upcoming ceremony.
“The articulation of symbolic power through these kinds of activities is still interesting,” said Walkling. “For me, it connects back to the 17th century, even though the conditions of the monarchy were very different from what they are now.”
1953 vs. Today
The last coronation ceremony was that of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history. With Elizabeth’s passing in September 2022, Charles succeeded immediately to the throne. The upcoming ceremony is the first since June 2, 1953, when Queen Elizabeth was crowned. Walkling said the point of the ceremony is to invoke the past and draw a connection with tradition, but some things will be different.
“You want a coronation not just to be a kind of call back to the past, but something that reflects the new reign,” said Walkling.
This coronation ceremony will be much more environmentally friendly, down to the small details of the rituals. Part of the ceremony includes an anointing by a priest with a holy oil called chrism. The oil is traditionally made with ambergris from sperm whales and oil from a wild cat called a civet, said Walkling.
“The chrism oil is meant to have those things in it, but Charles wants the coronation to be more humane, so they're going to use oil without those ingredients,” said Walkling.
The ceremony will also be a smaller affair in terms of audience. For Elizabeth II’s coronation, 8,251 guests were present. Walkling explained that Charles wants something different.
“He wants to acknowledge a wider swath of British society for the coronation,” said Walkling. “Charles wants a much smaller audience physically present to make it more intimate and also to emphasize that it's for everyone, because most people will be watching it on television rather than being invited guests.”
Seventy years have passed since the coronation of Elizabeth II. In this new era, there are many traditions that will remain, but there are many that will progress.
“There are certain elements of the coronation ceremony that go all the way back to the Middle Ages,” said Walkling. “There are other ones that are more recent, but part of the point is to draw a connection with tradition.”
Objects
There will be a lot to look for during the new ceremony. The event will be beautifully decorated and the pageantry will create quite a spectacle. There are some unique objects that hold particular significance that will be used throughout the ceremony, some more than 300 years old.
“Many of the objects associated with the coronation, like the crown, the scepter, the orb, actually were constructed for the coronation of Charles the second in 1661,” said Walkling.
The previous objects had been melted down in the mid-17th century by the Republican regime, which believed they would never be ruled by a king again.
“When they did get a new king, they had to build new objects that looked like the much older medieval ones, and that's still what they use today,” said Walkling.
One of four objects that the king will be presented with is the Sovereign’s Orb. It can be traced back to classical times in ancient Rome; a ruler held it to symbolize the power of cradling the world, explained Walkling.
“In Christian times, the orb is surmounted with a cross,” said Walkling. “The ruler holds the world, but Christ rules over the world.”
The Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross is another one of these symbolic objects. Similar to the orb, it holds a dual meaning. In one regard, it represents the authority of the ruling party as the head of state. It also represents the monarch's religious authority as the head of the Church of England. The large cross at the top of the sceptre symbolizes the monarch's commitment to upholding the Christian faith and serving as a spiritual leader for the people. In modern society, these are more symbolic sentiments, but they can be traced back to a time when royalty held full and absolute power.
The most recognizable of these objects is the royal crown. There are two: St. Edward’s Crown and the Imperial State Crown. St. Edward’s Crown is significantly heavier, so it will only be worn in the official crowning ritual. The lighter of the two, the Imperial State Crown, will be worn during the procession, said Walkling.
“Both of them are what we call imperial crowns, which means that it's not just a crown around the head, but it has these four pieces that come up and meet at the center above the head,” he said. “A closed crown represents imperial power, as opposed to an open crown, which we often associate more with fairy tales.”
The two different crowns are worn at different points in the ceremony. They have been preserved in the Tower of London and must be resized for Charles, the precious metals carefully molded by jewelers.
Rituals
Viewers of the coronation will witness some traditional rituals performed in a specific order. The ceremony will begin with a procession from Buckingham Palace through the streets of London, right across St. James’s Park, then down to Whitehall, where the coronation will take place. A second, more formal, procession will take place after the ceremonies come to an end, said Walkling.
The most famed aspect of the ceremony, the crowning of King Charles III, will be broadcast as well. The Archbishop of Canterbury will place the St. Edward’s Crown, said Walkling.
“In the United States, we take an oath to the Constitution. There is no constitution in Britain, so the king takes an oath to God,” he said.
There is one ceremony that viewers actually won’t be able to witness: the anointing. It will be performed using the new oil, but the traditional ritual remains.
“The king goes into a corner with just the archbishop and a few other people, and they anoint him out of the view of the spectators,” said Walkling. “You will likely see them sort of disappear.”
Music
There are many aspects of the coronation that are kept relatively under wraps, and music is one of them. We know that King Charles III personally selected the music, which will include 12 newly commissioned pieces, including an original from English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The musical performances are meant to mix traditional ceremonial compositions and more contemporary talent to create a real spectacle. Looking back at coronations of the past, we can see what has continued and what has evolved, said Walkling.
“There are traditional musical settings from the past, even some dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, that have often been used subsequently,” he said.
Famous compositions that have been performed in past coronations will most likely be performed. George Frideric Handel’s anthem “Zadok the Priest” has played at every coronation since it was first commissioned for the coronation of King George II in 1727. The song has been cemented as a tradition that will continue this May.
Public Opinion and Controversy
The British Royal Family has been ruling since 1066. After nearly a millennium, the opinion of the symbolic monarchy has changed drastically within Britain and across the world. Walkling explained both sides of this debate, and how this complicated divide makes this coronation in particular quite interesting.
“There's a strong trend of republicanism in England, people who think the monarchy should be abolished,” he said. “It's odd for some to have somebody in a position of power who is, in no way, chosen by or answerable to the people.”
There are some who find a certain comfort in royalty, however.
“There are some people who revere the institution of the monarchy,” said Walkling. “Even though he's a constitutional monarch, there's still this idea that he's head of the Church of England, he is a sort of representative of God on Earth.”
Charles has also been involved in personal controversy that has impacted his image prior to this ceremony, said Walkling. While waiting on deck for 70 years, Charles has been frequently outspoken on certain political issues in order to make a career for himself. He has been involved in some controversies regarding environmental issues, has been accused of attempting to influence government decision making, his financial decisions have been questioned and he infamously cheated on the beloved Diana, Princess of Wales.
“Now that he's king, some of that has come back to haunt him, because people see him as a controversial figure,” said Walkling.
The monarchy as an institution is rooted in a darker history, a history of imperialism beginning in the 16th century that greatly impacted the culture and history of many countries that today feel no pride toward the royal institution, said Walkling.
“I think there may be people in those countries who are very proud to see Charles III crowned, but there are also moves afoot to get rid of the British monarch as king of those other places,” said Walkling. “He represents the past and represents an imperial past that has a lot of negative aspects to it, whereas in the United Kingdom the monarchy is, to a great extent, a domestic institution.”
Why You Should Watch
As the first coronation ceremony in 70 years, it’s an important moment in modern history, said Walkling. It might not be another 70 years before the next coronation, but he expressed the importance of tuning in for more than just the historical significance.
“As human beings, we are drawn to ceremonial, we are drawn to symbolic performance,” said Walkling. “This performance will be one of the most extravagant.”
For Walkling, it’s more about the tradition of ceremony itself, and what it means to move into a new era. This is a symbolic moment that captures the passing of time, and expresses that change through ceremonial forms.
“Ceremony is one of the ways in which we articulate our humanity through ritualistic action,” said Walkling. “We use ceremony, not just because it's fun, but because it provides a kind of moment of symbolic behavior that transitions us from one place to the next.”
The coronation ceremony will be broadcast Saturday, May 6. More details on how and when to watch will be released within the next month.
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