Charles III wants to be a modern king, light on spending and paraphernalia, accessible, diverse, inclusive, open to all religions, a defender of the environment, and as political as the Constitution allows. And at the same time, not to offend the 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 , exempt from “unethical” elements such as ambergris from the intestines of whales, or civet oil extracted from the glands of small mammals.
But to completely eliminate controversy in an environment so charged with culture war and gender identity is impossible. And as inclusive as Charles III wants to be, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that the commemorative plates and cups for the event are a deep blue, considered masculine, to emphasize that Britain has its first male king in seven decades . This, while the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, as well as many of the subjects, do not agree on what constitutes a man and a woman.
The parade route will be just two kilometers, between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, instead of the eight that Elizabeth II covered. So the curious and hardened monarchists will have to crowd to see Charles and Camilla pass by, on the way to the church in the most comfortable and modern carriage of their collection (built in 2012), and back in the oldest (260 years), used in all coronations since Guillem IV in 1831.
What crown each wears is as complex a matter as what dress the bride wears at a wedding. Charles will wear the St. Edward’s, the same one his mother wore in 1953, and the Imperial State at the exit of the abbey, a symbol of the power that has been conferred on him. As for Camilla, one that was made exclusively for Queen Maria, consort of George V and great-grandmother of the current king, in a modified version to which gems from the personal collection of ‘ Elizabeth II. So there will be no criticism for going with the Koh-i-Noor diamond, stolen by the East India Company during the colonial era. Although perhaps yes because of the presence among the jewels of a piece of elephant ivory, material whose trafficking is prohibited in the United Kingdom and against which William, the heir, is campaigning.
Most of the sacred and precious objects used at 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 the vegan oil will be poured, consecrated in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The contrast, because of the modernity, is an emoticon with the design of the crown of Saint Edward, which the palace will use in all the messages it tweets about the event.
Henry will be there, but without Meghan, and his trip will be lightning fast. Also Andreu, the other black sheep, although it is not known in which uniform and without his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, excluded. Charles III wants to be an inclusive king, but applying this to the family is not easy…
