The Start of an Era

Looking ahead to today's coronation

The scope and impact of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign was phenomenal. She presided over an entire era. Seven decades and a lifetime of service that was promptly heralded as the Second Elizabethan Age upon her death.

So, what now?

As Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest, her son, Charles, became our King. Officially proclaimed Lord of Mann in St John’s back in September, he became our head of state immediately following the death of his mother.

So, what’s the point of the coronation? And why should we care?

Tradition

Strictly speaking, a coronation is not required – Charles is already King. But it’s ultimately a matter of tradition. Of all the European monarchies still in existence, the UK is the only one that still stages such a grand-scale religious ceremony.

It has now been nearly eight months since the late Queen was laid to rest. However, it’s normal to have a coronation take place several months after the passing of a monarch.

The late Queen was crowned on 2 June 1953 – around 16 months after her father’s death on 6 February 1952.

Whereas Edward VIII was never coronated because he abdicated 11 months after becoming King in 1936 – while plans for his coronation were still being made.

Today’s event will be a lavish affair – not dissimilar to the scale of the state funeral held for the late Queen back in September.

Like every coronation in the last 900 years, the ceremony for King Charles will take place at Westminster Abbey and the service will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury (as has been the case for almost every coronation since the Norman Conquest in 1066).

Westminster Abbey is of huge significance for the Royal Family, it is where the Queen’s funeral was held last year, and where William and Kate married in 2011.

The Service

There are six basic phases to the coronation: the recognition, the oath, the anointing, the investiture (which includes the crowning), the enthronement and the homage.

During the ceremony, King Charles will swear to uphold the law and the Church of England, be anointed with holy oil, receive the Royal Orb and sceptres, and be crowned with the solid gold St Edward's Crown.

While the 1953 coronation was three hours long and had 8,000 guests in attendance, Charles’ is expected to be much shorter.

Regardless, it will draw in an incredible number of viewers around the world.

Whilst the Queen’s coronation marked the beginning of the TV age – it was the first to be televised, with more than 20 million people tuning in to watch – Charles will be crowned in the era of the smart phone, with the ceremony’s potential reach via social media frankly difficult to quantify.

It would be an understatement to point out that the impending ceremony has already been the subject of mixed reactions online.

Perhaps nothing epitomises the divide in opinion more than the news that for the first time, the public are being given an active role in the ceremony as they are invited to swear allegiance to the King.

1953 vs 2023

When the Queen came to power, she was 27 years old, Britain was rebuilding following a hard-fought war and the British Empire was still largely intact.

Today, a 74-year-old Charles will preside over a very different kingdom.

The Royal Family has weathered a number of public scandals – of which several have centred around the new King, his private relationships and those of his heirs.

The Empire has diminished, with increasing nations calling for complete sovereignty. Indeed, a recent poll by Lord Ashcroft, former chairman of the Conservative Party, shows that almost half of the countries in the Commonwealth support the idea of ditching their constitutional monarchies.

And just this week, a senior figure in the Jamaican government said the King’s coronation has accelerated the country's plans to become a republic, saying the country could leave the Commonwealth as early as next year, following a potential referendum.

Lord of Mann

King Charles is of course our Lord of Mann. So how will the Isle of Man be represented on the day?

Our Chief Minister, Alfred Cannan, will be in attendance to fly the Manx flag, alongside the Lieutenant Governor, Sir John Lorimer.

Members of the Isle of Man Constabulary will be helping to police the historic event. PC Richard Hewitt and PC Louise Kennaugh will be representing the force on the ceremonial route.

Meanwhile, an Isle of Man member of St John Ambulance will be one of several hundred uniformed members of the Civilian Services on parade.

Edward ‘Eddie’ Littlewood, the Isle of Man Commandery Youth Support Officer, will join other St John Ambulance members from across the United Kingdom in lining the processional route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey and, following the coronation service, back to Buckingham Palace.

There will also be representation from the Sea Cadets and Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service – with Leading Firefighter Amber Carridge and Governor’s Cadet Cerys Mudie in London making the Island proud.

Leading around one hundred standards on parade today will be Claire McCabe, from Port St Mary.

In May 2022, Claire competed in the final of the Royal British Legion National Standard Bearer competition against nine other finalists from all over Great Britain. She won, becoming the first person to win both the Women’s Section and the RBL titles.

In her role as National Standard Bearer, Claire will proudly dip the British National Standard during the coronation proceedings.

Also heading over to London for the occasion is a piece of Manx nature – a bowl, handcrafted from the wood of a fallen Elm found in woodland near Tynwald Hill.

A gift fit for a King

The bowl, shaped by nature-inspired artist Graham Hall from Artforms from Nature is inlaid with peregrine falcons made from recycled silver created by Claire and Scott Pearse from Element Isle and stands on a plinth designed by Rosie Glassey at Pooil Vaaish, made from black limestone, which is unique to the Island.

It is engraved with the Manx toast - Slaynt as shee as eash dy vea, as maynrys son dy bra – wishing the Royal couple ‘health and peace and length of life and happiness for ever’.

The inclusion of the falcons mark a tradition dating back more than 600 years. 

Henry IV gave the Isle of Man to Sir John Stanley in 1406 on the condition he pay homage and give two peregrine falcons to every future monarch of England on their coronation.

This continued to the coronation of George IV in 1821, who was the last monarch to receive live birds. However, the bird of prey, which forms part of the Isle of Man’s coat of arms, has remained a feature of subsequent Manx coronation gifts.

For the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953 the Island gifted two silver peregrine falcons, which are at Balmoral.

Timeline

The service at Westminster Abbey will start at 11am, after the royals arrive in procession from Buckingham Palace.

Unlike the Queen at her coronation, the King and Queen Consort will take the same 1.3-mile route to and from the ceremony.

They will travel down The Mall via Admiralty Arch, take the south side of Trafalgar Square, then go along Whitehall and Parliament Street, take the east and south sides of Parliament Square to Broad Sanctuary, before arriving at the Abbey.

The new King and Queen will travel in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach on their way to the ceremony and use the 260-year-old Gold State Coach for the return journey.

After the ceremony, more members of the Royal Family will join for the procession back to the palace.

The King and Queen Consort will be joined by other family members on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to conclude the day's ceremonial events.

Here on the Island, four Texan T MK1 aircraft are scheduled to flyover Douglas at 5:11pm to mark the coronation (weather permitting).

The aircraft, from RAF Valley’s 72(F) Squadron, are taking part in the flypast over Buckingham Palace. 

On their return to base, the aircraft will be fly over several locations, including the Isle of Man.

Bank Holiday fun

The Monday after the coronation (8 May) is a bank holiday here on the Isle of Man.

And, given the long weekend, there are plenty of events on the calendar to mark the big occasion.

Street parties and private events are set to take place across the Island. We’ve got the details for organised events (and non-coronation related bank holiday fun!) in our What’s On Guide, available HERE.

And, if you want to take in the sights of the coronation from your sofa, on Sunday 7 May, the BBC will broadcast the Coronation Concert live from Windsor Castle from 8pm.

The gig will see performances from Take That, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, Andrea Bocelli, Paloma Faith and Nicole Scherzinger, amongst others.