LONDON — King Charles III was crowned monarch of the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland on Saturday, in a ceremony steeped in a millennium of tradition and pageantry.
Shouts of “God Save the King!” were heard, trumpets blared and gun salutes rang out after the Archbishop of Canterbury placed the crown on Charles’s head at Westminster Abbey. The coronation comes almost eight months after Charles ascended the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Sept. 8.
Charles, 74, and his wife, Queen Camilla, 75, then returned to Buckingham Palace in a sumptuous procession cheered on by crowds lining the roads despite the heavy rain. Soon after, the couple and other members of the family, including Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales, and their three children appeared on the palace’s balcony and greeted a flag-waving crowd below them.
Not everyone is a fan of King Charles and the royals, however, and at least 25 anti-monarchy activists and other protesters were arrested earlier on Saturday. For many, the royal opulence is a bad-taste juxtaposition with what’s really going on in modern Britain: Economic hardship for millions.
What to know about the king's coronation
- Charles was crowned at noon as gun salutes sounded across the United Kingdom.
- Prince Harry arrived at his father's coronation while his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, remained in California. Neither Harry or Charles's disgraced younger brother, Prince Andrew, appeared on the balcony after the ceremony.
- This was the largest military ceremonial operation in 70 years, with more than 6,000 members of the U.K.'s Armed Forces taking part.
- Read our full guide on the day's events.
All the key moments from King Charles III's coronation
Cavalier King Charles Spaniels parade on coronation day
Around 150 fluffy eared and doe-eyed namesakes of King Charles III’s ancestor paraded down London’s King’s Road to celebrate the country’s new monarch on Saturday.
Soggy but largely undeterred by the rain, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, some wearing tiaras and others red royal cloaks, turned out in force with their owners in Chelsea, one of the capital’s poshest neighborhoods.
“I just thought this is a no-brainer,” said Jenny Matthews, who owns a pet grooming service, cafe and boutique on the King’s Road and who came up with the idea for the parade.
See the royal family together on Buckingham Palace balcony
Photo: Rain soaks King Charles spaniel parade
Rain drenches a parade of King Charles spaniels on King’s Road in London. The event was organized to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III.
Crowds may have cheered coronation, but not everybody is a fan of the royals
Dozens of anti-monarchy activists and other protesters were arrested on Saturday, a reminder not everyone in the United Kingdom has been swept up in the royal adulation dominating TV screens.
Six people from the anti-royalist campaign group Republic and 19 people from environmental activists Just Stop Oil were detained by the Metropolitan Police in central London, near to where Charles was being crowned, according to the groups.
For free speech campaigners and some onlookers, it was a chilling scene, even on a day where polls and anecdote suggest that apathy — rather than royal or anti-monarchical fervor — is the prevailing mood in Britain.
Could royal drama spoil the party?
After the coronation, King Charles will have to navigate scandals and tricky family relationships that could tarnish his reign and the monarchy itself.
Past and ongoing issues with Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and even his wife, Camilla, could overshadow the new king’s rule if they are not carefully managed, royal experts say.
“The royal family is one of the most visible and tenuous aspects of the crown’s overall brand,” said Cele Otnes, co-author of “Royal Fever: The British Monarchy in Consumer Culture.” “It’s hard to manage people,” she added.
Gun salutes were fired at the exact moment the St. Edward’s Crown was placed on the king’s head from military bases across the U.K.
The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery was among the units that fired a six-gun salvo in which all six guns fire once at the same time.