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The Coronation of King Charles III

The Coronation of King Charles III

2024
File size: 12524px x 6422px
Print: 42" x 21” @300 dpi
Electronic painting

An electronic painting of the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey on 6th May 2023. Charles acceded to the throne on 8th September 2022 upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II.

The cost of the state event has been estimated at £50 million to £250 million and was paid for by the British government as well as Buckingham Palace.

The use of the Cullinan diamonds in the coronation was controversial in South Africa prompting a demand for their return.

The coronation elicited both celebrations and protest in the United Kingdom, with surveys carried out before the event suggesting that the British public was ambivalent towards the ceremony and its funding by taxpayers. The events in London and Windsor drew large crowds, but were also protested against by republican groups; 64 individuals were arrested on the day, which was criticised by the international advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

The Coronation of King Charles III
The Coronation of King Charles III
The Coronation of King Charles III
The Coronation of King Charles III
Detail: Charles is crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. He is seated on the Coronation Chair,made by order of Edward I in 1296 to enclose the famous Scottish Stone of Scone. The graffiti is the result of Westminster schoolboys and visitors carving their names in the 18th and 19th centuries. Coronation Sword Bearer Penny Mordaunt, left;
The Coronation of King Charles III
The Coronation of King Charles III,
Detail: Charles is coronated with the St Edward’s Crown, originally made for Edward II in 1661. He wears the gold Imperial Mantle. He holds in his right hand the Sovereign's Sceptre with the Cross containing the Cullinan I (or The Great Star of Africa) diamond. In his left, he holds the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Dove.
The Coronation of King Charles III, Queen Camilla and Ladies in Attendance
The Coronation of King Charles III
Queen Camilla and the Queen's companions, Fiona Mary Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne, and Annabel Elliot, Camilla's only sister. Prince George, Page of Honour, second from left.
The Coronation of King Charles III, guests
The Coronation of King Charles III
Guests, front row left to right: William, Prince of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Catherine, Princess of Wales; Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh; Duke of Kent; Mswati III, King of Eswatini and his third wife; Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden and Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden; Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei and Prince Abdul Mateen of Brunei.
second row left to right: James, Earl of Wessex and Lady Louise Windsor; Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi; Princess Eugenie; Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester; Timothy Laurence and Anne, Princess Royal;
The Coronation of King Charles III, regalia
The Coronation of King Charles III, Regalia
Left to right: the Coronation Bible; St Edward's Staff ; Queen Consort's Rod with Dove; Queen Consort's Sceptre with Cross; the Jewelled Sword of Offering; Queen Mary's Crown with the Koh-i-Noor diamond removed; the ruby Queen Consort Ring; the golden eagle Ampulla, which holds the consecrated anointing oil and the Coronation Spoon; the Sovereign's Ring; the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross; the gold Spurs; the Armills; the Sovereign's Orb;