The Cabinet Office has issued a press release concerning the main coronation roles, as follows:
Those chosen have showed evidence that their claim relates to a historic customary service performed at previous Coronations.
Some of those who will have roles in the Coronation Service (others will be announced in due course) are as follows:
The historic roles in the Coronation ceremony include:
The Lord Great Chamberlain – One of the Officers of State, the Lord Great Chamberlain traditionally plays a major role in Coronations. He will take part in the investing of The King with the regalia - the Crown Jewels.
The Dean and Chapter of the Collegiate Church of St Peter will hold the ceremony and instruct the monarch in the forms, rites and ceremonies.
The Earl of Erroll will bear a silver baton or staff as Lord High Constable of Scotland
The Bishop of Durham and Bishop of Bath and Wells will be Bishop Assistant to The King
The Earl of Dundee will carry the Quartering of the Standard (Scotland) in Procession
The Lord Lyon King of Arms & Heralds and Pursuivants of Scotland will be part of The King’s procession
The Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, will record the proceedings
The first processions into Westminster Abbey will be made up of Faith Leaders and Faith Representatives followed shortly afterwards by representatives from His Majesty’s Realms. Flags of each Realm will be carried by national representatives accompanied by the Governors General and Prime Ministers.
This will be followed by The Procession of The King and The Queen which will be led by the Marquess of Anglesey, the Duke of Westminster, the Earl of Caledon and the Earl of Dundee.
Francis Dymoke will carry The Royal Standard. The title of King or Queen’s Champion has been held by the Dymoke family since the Middle Ages. Where once the King or Queen's Champion rode into the Coronation Banquet, the role has now been changed to flag or Standard-bearer.
Also taking part in the procession will be Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of the Defence Staff, acting as Lord High Constable of England, an office held for the day only.
The following will then process to the altar carrying Her Majesty’s Regalia:
The following will then process to the altar carrying His Majesty’s Regalia:
General the Lord Houghton of Richmond – Carrying the Sword of Temporal Justice
During the Coronation Service the Regalia will be presented to Their Majesties. Those presenting Regalia to His Majesty will be:
Those presenting Regalia to Her Majesty will be:
On the morning of the 6th May, Their Majesties will travel from Buckingham Palace ito Westminster Abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, which was created for Queen Elizabeth II to commemorate the 60th anniversary of her reign in 2012.
The gilded crown on the top of the Diamond Jubilee State Coach was carved from oak from HMS Victory, and the coach’s interior is inlaid with samples of woods, metals and other materials from buildings and places with specific connections to Britain and its history; Royal Residences including Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse; cathedrals including St Paul’s and Westminster Abbey; and historic ships, such as the Mary Rose. The coach will be drawn by six Windsor Greys.
The King’s Procession, which will be accompanied by The Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry, will depart Buckingham Palace through the Centre Gate, and proceed down The Mall, through Admiralty Arch, down Whitehall and along Parliament Street. It will travel around the east and south sides of Parliament Square to arrive at the Sanctuary of Westminster Abbey, where the Coronation Service will begin at 11 o’clock.
The procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace will take the same route in reverse, but will be much larger in scale, including , Armed Forces from across the Commonwealth and the British Overseas Territories, and all Services of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, alongside The Sovereign’s Bodyguard and Royal Watermen.
Their Majesties will travel in the Gold State Coach. The coach was commissioned in 1760 and was first used by King George III, to travel to the State Opening of Parliament in 1762. The coach has been used at every Coronation since that of William IV in 1831. The coach will be drawn by eight Windsor Greys and, due to its weight of four tonnes, will travel at walking pace.
Upon returning to Buckingham Palace following the Coronation Service, Their Majesties will receive a Royal Salute from the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Armed Forces who have been on parade that day, followed by three cheers from the assembled service personnel.
Top: Hugo Burnard/ Buckingham Palace.
The following world leaders will be attending the Coronation:
•Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission
•Charles Michel, EU Council President
•President Emmanuel Macron of France
•President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany
•President Sergio Mattarella of Italy
•President Andrzej Duda of Poland
•Borjana Krišto, the chair of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
•Dr Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States
•Prime Minister Albanese of Australia
•Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan
•President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos of the Philippines.
More than 6,000 men and women of the United Kingdom’s Armed Forces will participate in the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla. They will take place in two processions accompanying Their Majesties to and from Westminster Abbey, participate in a Coronation flypast of over 60 aircraft from all three and will sound out gun salutes to herald the moment when the King is crowned.
Sailors and Royal Marines will wear His Majesty The King’s cypher on their uniforms for the first time at the coronation parade in May. Military personnel will also wear new Regimental cap badges showing His Majesty The King's cypher. The new design of the RAF cap badge, and other adornments to RAF uniforms, reflect the style of crown personally selected by HM The King to represent his sovereignty.
Around 5,000 Armed Forces personnel will accompany their Sovereign from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey and back in two separate processions. The first, King’s Procession, will feature just under 200 members, centred around The Sovereign’s Escort of The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment. The route will be flanked by 1,000 personnel from all three services.
The Coronation Procession will follow the same route back to Buckingham Palace from Westminster Abbey. Featuring nearly 4,000 personnel, this Coronation Procession will represent the diversity and traditions of the UK and Commonwealth Armed Forces.
The final crescendo following a spectacular military procession will be a six-minute flypast through the skies of London, watched on by members of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team – the Red Arrows – will follow dozens of aircraft used by the Armed Forces on operations around the world.
Included will be 16 helicopters, the historic Spitfires of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAF’s brand-new P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, Joint RAF and RN crewed state-of-the art F-35B Lightning II jets and transport aircraft from the RAF’s Air Mobility Force. It will feature the first flypast involvement of the RAF’s new Envoy IV CC1 aircraft.
Featuring more than 400 personnel, across 13 locations and deployed Royal Navy ships, 21 rounds will fire to mark the Coronation with the exception of The Tower of London and Horse Guards Parade, where a 62 round salute and a six-gun salvo will fire respectively.
King Charles has commissioned 12 pieces of new Coronation music, which will be complemented by a programme of mainly British music spanning 350 years. They will consist of six orchestral commissions, five choral commissions and one organ commission, all ‘specially composed for the occasion by world-renowned British composers whose work includes Classical, Sacred, Film, Television and Musical Theatre.’
The Coronation Orchestra is conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano, Music Director for the Royal Opera House, anad the membership of the orchestra comprises some of the world’s greatest musicians drawn from eight leading orchestras of The former Prince of Wales’ Patronages, from across the UK and Canada
The five new commissions included in the main Service will be directed by Andrew Nethsingha, Organist and Master of the Choristers of Westminster Abbey:
It is a long-standing custom that the Archbishop of Canterbury authorises a new liturgy for each Coronation, based on ancient texts and ceremonial elements that draw on centuries of tradition.
Click here for the Coronation Liturgy, authorised by The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby.
In accordance with tradition, Their Majesties will wear two different sets of robes during the Coronation Service. Robes of State are worn on arrival at Westminster Abbey, and Robes of Estate are worn on departure, following the Coronation Service, and are traditionally more personalised in design.
The King’s Robe of State is made of crimson velvet and was worn by King George VI at the Coronation in 1937. In preparation for the Coronation Service, the velvet has been conserved by the Royal School of Needlework, with the lining and gold lace conserved by Ede and Ravenscroft.
The Robe of State to be worn by The Queen Consort was originally made for Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The Robe is made of crimson velvet and has been conserved with adjustments made by robemakers at Ede and Ravenscroft ahead of the Coronation.
The King’s Robe of Estate is made of purple silk velvet embroidered in gold and was worn by King George VI in 1937. Robemakers at Ede and Ravenscroft have conserved and prepared the robe ahead of the Coronation.
The Queen Consort’s new Robe of Estate was designed and hand embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. The Robe itself was made by Ede and Ravenscroft. The Robe uses a rich purple velvet, chosen to match His Majesty’s Robe of Estate. For the first time, insects including bees and a beetle feature on the Coronation Robe, drawing on the themes of nature and the environment and reflecting Their Majesties’ affection for the natural world.