The coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms is taking place today, Saturday 6 May 2023, at Westminster Abbey.
His Majesty King Charles III, formerly The Prince of Wales, became King on the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022.
In addition to his official and ceremonial duties in the United Kingdom and overseas as The Prince of Wales, The King has taken a keen and active interest in all areas of public life for decades. The King has been instrumental in establishing more than 20 charities over 40 years, including The Prince’s Trust, The Prince’s Foundation and The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF).
The Prince’s Trust (est.1976) has empowered young people across the United Kingdom for over four decades. The charity has provided young people, aged 11 to 30, with the support and resources they need to thrive in education, employment, and life.
The Prince’s Trust is one of the most successful funding organisations in the UK and is the UK’s leading youth charity, having helped over 1,000,000 young people turn their lives around, created 125,000 entrepreneurs, and given business support to 395,000 people in the UK.
From 2006 to 2016, its work for the youth has been worth an estimated £1.4 billion. The Prince’s Trust International has been running since 2015, with programmes present in over 20 countries within the Commonwealth [including Uganda] and beyond across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Europe.
The King has promoted environmental awareness since the 1970s. He delivered his first speech on environmental issues in Cardiff aged 21, as chairman of the Welsh Countryside Committee. The King has continually encouraged sustainability to ensure that the natural assets upon which we all depend among other things soil, water, forests, a stable climate and fish stocks endure for future generations.
The King is committed to his role as head of the Commonwealth and has shown significant dedication to the role.
His Majesty King Charles III will be crowned on 6th May 2023 in Westminster Abbey, with Her Majesty Queen Camilla crowned beside him.
Her Majesty Queen Camilla
Her Majesty Queen Camilla, formerly Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, will support The King, in carrying out his work and duties. She also undertakes public engagements on behalf of the charities that she supports.
The Queen has become the Patron or President of over 90 charities. The Queen’s charity work is varied but several themes prevail health and well-being, promoting literacy, the arts, animal welfare and supporting survivors of rape and sexual assault.
The Coronation
- The King will be the fortieth Sovereign to be crowned at Westminster Abbey, on 06 May 2023.
- Westminster Abbey has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066.
- King Charles III succeeded to the Throne on 8th September 2022 upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch.
- The contemporary form of the coronation dates from 1902, when King Edward VII was crowned. This consists of a state procession from Buckingham Palace to the Abbey, another procession inside, the Recognition, the Anointing, the Coronation Oath, the Homage and finally another procession from the Abbey back to the Palace.
- Their Majesties’ Coronation will include 12 new commissions of music, including a Coronation Anthem by Andrew Lloyd Webber, a Coronation March by Patrick Doyle, and other works by Ian Farrington, Sarah Class, Nigel Hess, Paul Mealor, Tarik O’Regan, Roxanna Panufnik, Shirley J. Thompson, Judith Weir, Roderick Williams, and Debbie Wiseman.
- Week-long celebrations and events will be held in the UK, the Commonwealth and 280 diplomatic missions around the world, celebrating key UK values of sustainability, community, youth and diversity.
- More than 6,000 men and women of the UK’s Armed Forces – and nearly 400 Armed Forces personnel from at least 35 Commonwealth countries [including Uganda] – will take part in the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
Biography – His Majesty King Charles III
1948: The Prince of Wales, eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was born at Buckingham Palace at 9.14 pm on 14th November, weighing 7lb and 6oz. He was named Charles Philip Arthur George.
1952: His mother was proclaimed Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 25, when her father, King George VI, died aged 56 on 6th February 1952. On The Queen’s accession to the throne, Prince Charles – as the Sovereign’s eldest son – became heir apparent at the age of three. He took on the traditional titles of The Duke of Cornwall under a charter of King Edward III in 1337; and, in the Scottish peerage, of Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.
1953: The Prince was four at his mother’s Coronation, in Westminster Abbey on 2nd June seated between his grandmother (Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother) and his aunt, Princess Margaret.
1958: At the age of nine, The Queen created him The Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.
1962: The Prince began his first term at Gordonstoun, a school near Elgin in Scotland which The Duke of Edinburgh had attended.
1967: The Prince went to Cambridge University to read archaeology and anthropology at Trinity College.
1969: He was invested as Prince of Wales by The Queen on 1st July in a colourful ceremony at Caernarfon Castle. Before the investiture The Prince had spent a term at the University College of Wales at Aberystwyth, learning to speak Welsh.
1970: On 11th February, His Royal Highness took his seat in the House of Lords.
1971: On 8th March 1971 The Prince flew himself to RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire, to train as a jet pilot. At his own request, The Prince had received flying instruction from the RAF during his second year at Cambridge.
1971: In September 1971 after the passing out parade at Cranwell, The Prince embarked on a naval career, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and both his great-grandfathers. The six-week course at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, was followed by service on the guided missile destroyer HMS Norfolk and two frigates.
1974: The Prince qualified as a helicopter pilot before joining the 845 Naval Air Squadron, which operated from the Commando carrier HMS Hermes.
1976: On 9th February, The Prince took command of the coastal minehunter HMS Bronington for his last nine months in the Navy.
1976: Established The Prince’s Trust, to help 11 to 30-year-olds who are unemployed or struggling at school to transform their lives. Since then more than 870,000 disadvantaged young people across the UK have been supported by the Trust and helped to move into work, education or training.
1981: On 29th July, The Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer in St Paul’s Cathedral who became HRH The Princess of Wales. The Prince and Princess of Wales had two sons: Prince William, born on 21st June 1982; and Prince Harry, born on 15th September 1984.
1984: Founded Operation Raleigh (now Raleigh International), an educational charity for young volunteers to take part in expeditions around the world.
1990: Launched his own organic brand called Duchy Originals, now selling more than 200 different sustainably produced products with the profits donated to the Prince’s Charities.
1992: On 9th December, The Prime Minister, John Major, announced to the House of Commons that The Prince and Princess of Wales had agreed to separate.
1996: The marriage was dissolved on 28th August. The Princess was still regarded as a member of the Royal Family. She continued to live at Kensington Palace and to carry out her public work for a number of charities.
1997: The Princess was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31st August. The Prince of Wales flew to Paris with her two sisters to bring her body back to London.
2004: Founded The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) to inspire action by finance leaders to drive a fundamental shift towards resilient business models and a sustainable economy.
2005: On 9th April, The Prince of Wales and Mrs Parker Bowles were married in a civil ceremony at the Guildhall, Windsor, followed by a Service of Prayer and Dedication at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
2006: HRH launched The Prince of Wales’s Bhumi Vardaan Foundation in the course of his visit to India in March, an organisation which promotes responsible farming to ensure a sustainable future on the land for smaller farmers and their descendants.
2007: The Prince founded Mosaic a charity mentoring programme to create opportunities for young people growing up in the most deprived communities. Mosaic’s vision is for all young people to be supported to realise their potential.
2007: Established the Prince’s Rainforest Project as a charity and awareness campaign.
2007: Received the tenth annual Global Environmental Citizen Award from the Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment. The director, Eric Chivian, stated: ‘For decades the Prince of Wales has been a champion of the natural world … He has been a world leader in efforts to improve energy efficiency and in reducing the discharge of toxic substances on land, and into the air and the oceans’.
2010: The Prince’s Countryside Fund was established to improve the prospects of family farm businesses and the quality of rural life. Through partnerships and events, the charity celebrates and promotes the value of the countryside.
2011: Received the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Medal for his environmental work including advocacy for rainforest conservation.
2015: The Prince of Wales Foundation Romania (PWFR) was established to take forward his charitable work in Romania. The Foundation develops a number of projects to support the architectural heritage preservation, farming and sustainable development of the country.
2017: His Royal Highness was awarded The GCC Global Leader of Change Award for his outstanding contribution to global environmental preservation and protection and for his passionate vision for a better future for humanity.
2018: The Prince’s Foundation was created through the merger of The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House Trust and The Prince’s School of Traditional Art.
2019: In response to the increasing threats posed by climate change and biodiversity loss The Prince of Wales created the Sustainable Markets Initiative and Council, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum.
2021: Launched the Food for the Future initiative, a programme with contributions from Jimmy Doherty and Jamie Oliver which aims to educate secondary school children about the food system and how to eliminate food waste.