King Charles III and his wife Camilla were crowned in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Saturday. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby placed St. Edward’s crown on the 74-year-old king’s head, and Queen Camilla was crowned immediately after in a similar but simpler ritual.
The ceremony was followed by the heirs to the crown, Guillermo and Catalina, as well as 2,300 other guests, including representatives of British civil society, the Brazilian president, and the kings of Spain. The royal couple ran under anti-monarchy banners as they rode in a carriage through the streets of London, and six protest organizers and 20 members of the environmental group “Just Stop Oil” were arrested.
The ceremony was described as a mix of tradition and modernity, including a “historical scoop” in which everyone present, including viewers watching the ceremony at home, took an oath of allegiance to the new king.
Despite criticism from anti-monarchists, the ceremony included several pieces of jewelry and ancient gold-embroidered clothing that the king progressively wore during the ceremony, and the oil used for anointing was vegan in a nod to the monarch’s environmental convictions.