NYT WORLD: Buckingham Palace Sets 3-Day Coronation Weekend for King Charles III
By Mark Landler
Section: World
Source: New York Times
Published Date: January 21, 2023 at 02:00AM
Late Saturday, Buckingham Palace announced details of a three-day merrymaking jamboree that will rival Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee last June. Among the highlights: a star-studded concert at Windsor Castle, a nationwide series of street parties and a national volunteering campaign, branded “The Big Help Out.”
The sheer size of the festivities might seem surprising because the palace had earlier indicated that Charles wanted a scaled-back ceremony, as compared with his mother’s, given the cost-of-living crisis afflicting the country. But the British government now views the coronation weekend as an opportunity to lift spirits after a hard winter, according to people familiar with the planning, and it has encouraged the royal family to pull out the stops.
The palace is still expected to shorten the service, which will take place May 6 at Westminster Abbey and be conducted by the Most Rev. Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury. It will reduce the guest list and dispense with some of the more antiquated rituals of a ceremony that dates back nearly 1,000 years.
But coronations allow the public, in Britain and across the world, a chance to take part in royal festivities. Elizabeth’s coronation, in June 1953, was the first to be televised, drawing an estimated global audience of more than 250 million people.
By Mark Landler
Section: World
Source: New York Times
Published Date: January 21, 2023 at 02:00AM
Among the highlights that the palace has announced are a star-studded concert at Windsor Castle, street parties and a national volunteering campaign. No word yet on whether Prince Harry will show up.
LONDON — King Charles III has signaled that he wants a streamlined coronation ceremony. But that doesn’t mean an economically straitened Britain won’t throw an extravagant party as it crowns its first king in seven decades in May.Late Saturday, Buckingham Palace announced details of a three-day merrymaking jamboree that will rival Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee last June. Among the highlights: a star-studded concert at Windsor Castle, a nationwide series of street parties and a national volunteering campaign, branded “The Big Help Out.”
The sheer size of the festivities might seem surprising because the palace had earlier indicated that Charles wanted a scaled-back ceremony, as compared with his mother’s, given the cost-of-living crisis afflicting the country. But the British government now views the coronation weekend as an opportunity to lift spirits after a hard winter, according to people familiar with the planning, and it has encouraged the royal family to pull out the stops.
The palace is still expected to shorten the service, which will take place May 6 at Westminster Abbey and be conducted by the Most Rev. Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury. It will reduce the guest list and dispense with some of the more antiquated rituals of a ceremony that dates back nearly 1,000 years.
But coronations allow the public, in Britain and across the world, a chance to take part in royal festivities. Elizabeth’s coronation, in June 1953, was the first to be televised, drawing an estimated global audience of more than 250 million people.
Read More at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/21/world/europe/king-charles-coronation-britain.html
Posts
