As they departed from Westminster Abbey in the luxurious Gold State Coach, newly-crowned King Charles III and Queen Camilla were greeted with cheers from the enthusiastic crowds. The couple was headed back to Buckingham Palace for lunch, sparking speculation about whether Prince Harry would be joining them.
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Hooray for the King! The newly crowned Charles III and his wife Camilla, now Queen, were welcomed by cheering crowds as they left Westminster Abbey in the iconic Gold State Coach. The pair made their way back to Buckingham Palace for lunch after their historic coronation ceremony, which was the first of its kind in Britain since 1953.
A congregation of 2,300 bowed as the 62nd monarch in history and his wife exited the church, while bells rang and trumpets sounded. Charles and Camilla both beamed with smiles as they left the Abbey after the momentous and touching two-hour service. Prince William kissed his father on the cheek, with his brother Harry standing just yards away, in a poignant moment.
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The King and Queen then rode in the Gold State Coach, drawn by horses, and paraded past 2 million people in the streets, along with 7,000 servicemen and women marching alongside them. Later, they would join other working royals on the balcony for a flypast.
In a ceremony dating back to William the Conqueror in 1066, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby placed the St Edward’s Crown on the King’s head. Charles became the 40th reigning sovereign to be crowned at Westminster Abbey.
The King was visibly moved when Prince William knelt to give an oath of allegiance to him, breaking with tradition. William pledged his loyalty, faith, and truth to his father as his liege man of life and limb. Charles nodded to his son and said “amen” and “thank you William.”
Camilla was crowned just moments later as Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s coronation anthem played, and the Queen was officially enthroned. This was a moment when Charles and Camilla were “united in their joint vocation before God.”
Overall, the coronation was a historic and emotional event watched by millions around the globe. The day was filled with pageantry, and Charles’s destiny as king was fulfilled following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, last September after a 70-year reign.
