"I'm here to serve, not to be served.", So Charles III he sealed his solemn coronation inside Westminster Abbey. A phrase dictated by the current times, where the monarchy must necessarily be a side dish of value and reference to modern English life and not the other way around because it would risk inexorably losing its age-old consensus. Many fringes of the younger generation do not understand the essence and existence of the English Crown.
Charles III was called to face the rite of anointing, enthronement and investiture at the age of 74, with his 75-year-old wife, Camilla, by his side, since yesterday "Her Majesty the Queen".
The solemn ceremony was officiated with the trappings of the secular liturgy of the National Church of England, before the eyes of 2000 guests of honor among foreign leaders - including the Italian President Sergio Mattarella - first ladies, from the American Jill Biden to the Ukrainian Olena Zelenska, crowned heads, British dignitaries, personalities and various celebrities. Tens of thousands were the "supporters" crowded under a pouring rain, while worldwide millions were the viewers who followed the live television of the event of the year.
The first ecclesiastical women made their debut as concelebrants alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, Anglican primate. To corroborate the ceremony the participation of exponents of other Christian denominations complete with the Catholic presence of the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin. But also representatives of Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and the Sikh religion. The multi-ethnic military parade that accompanied the royals in the procession back from the abbey to Buckingham Palace was very impressive.
The symbols of the past were renewed after which the ritual of swearing allegiance to the laws of the Kingdom took place, such as the doctrine of the Church of England and one's duties as a "faithful Protestant" inspired by the commitment to "serve" in the name "of Jesus Christ, King of Kings”. At the end of the religious anointing on his knees and without vestments of any kind, behind a screen, with the sacramental oil, concluded with the act of submission and loyalty received from his eldest son William sealed by a ritual kiss on the cheek of the heir to the throne .
The procession of the two new royals back to the palace on the ancient Golden State Carriage, followed by the traditional view from the balcony to greet the subjects. To make the event more national, the trail with the colors of the Union Jack left by the planes of the Red Arrows aerobatic team of the Royal Air Force.
On the most famous balcony in the world, his son William, next to the little princes George, Charlotte and the irrepressible Louis, together with a radiant Kate. The "American" son Harry flew away immediately after a presence limited to the religious rite and confined to the third row.
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