With his own style: the novelties that Carlos III will introduce at his coronation

Carlos III wants to be a modern king, light in terms of spending and paraphernalia, accessible, diverse, inclusive, open to all religions, defender of the environment, and everything political that the Constitution allows. And at the same time, he does not offend traditionalists. Quite a challenge.

The monarch will take advantage of his coronation ceremony on May 6 to give that image based on small symbols: a much smaller procession than his mother’s seventy years ago, less extravagant acts, a vegan oil for anointing , free of “unethical” elements such as ambergris from the intestines of whales, or civet oil extracted from the glands of small mammals.

But eliminating controversy entirely in an environment so charged with culture wars and gender identity warfare is impossible. And as inclusive as Charles III wants to be, it has not gone unnoticed that the commemorative plates and mugs of the event are a deep blue color, considered “masculine”, to underscore that Britain has its first male king in seven decades. This, while the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, as well as a good part of the subjects, do not agree on what is a man and a woman.

The parade route will be only two kilometers, between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, taking a detour, instead of the eight that Elizabeth II traveled. So the curious and inveterate royalists will have to crowd together to see Carlos and Camila go by, on their way to the church in the most comfortable and modern carriage in their collection (built in 2012), and back in the oldest (260 years old). ), used in all coronations since that of William IV in 1831.

Which crown each wears is as complex a matter as what dress the bride wears at a wedding. Carlos will wear the one of San Eduardo, the same one that his mother wore in 1953, and the one of the imperial State at the exit of the abbey, symbol of the power that has been conferred on him. As for Camila, one that was made exclusively for Queen Mary, consort of George V and great-grandmother of the current king, in a modified version to which gems from Elizabeth II’s personal collection have been added.

So there will be no criticism for going with the Koh-i-Noor diamond, seized by the East India Company during colonial times. Although perhaps because of the presence among the jewels of a piece of elephant ivory, a material whose traffic is prohibited in the United Kingdom and against which William, the heir, campaigns.

Most of the sacred and precious objects used in the coronation are no more than 350 years old, because the royal treasures were looted by Oliver Cromwell and his followers, and the gold and silver melted down, after the assassination of Charles I in 1649 and the brief civil war that the country experienced in the 17th century. The oldest piece, by far, is a spoon from 1100 into which vegan oil will be poured, enshrined in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The contrast, therefore of modernity, is an emoticon with the design of the crown of San Eduardo, which the palace will use in all the messages that it tweets about the event.

Enrique will be there, but without Meghan, and his trip will be lightning. Also Andrés, the other black sheep, although it is not known with what uniform and without his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, excluded. Carlos III wants to be an inclusive king, but applying it to the family is not easy…