Charles III was crowned king on Saturday, May 6, becoming the 40th British monarch to be crowed at Westminster Abbey. King Charles III, 74, ascended the throne after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died in September 2022. The first U.K. coronation in 70 years was also the first to take place in the age of social media and live streaming across multiple platforms. “I come not to be served, but to serve,” Charles said in his first remarks of the ceremony. After the service, Charles and his wife, the newly crowned Queen Camilla, returned to Buckingham Palace in a golden stagecoach used by Elizabeth for her coronation procession back in 1953. Tens of thousands of people crowded central London, despite the morning rain, for a glimpse of the king and his queen, Camilla, who traveled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, escorted by four divisions of the Household Mounted Cavalry regiment. Even in a country accustomed to royal spectacle, the procession after the coronation on Saturday will beggar description: 19 military bands and 4,000 troops, stretching a mile from the palace gates. The king and his family watched from the balcony as more than 60 fighter jets, helicopters and World War II-vintage Spitfires roared overhead in a display that is, by custom, the grand finale of a royal celebration, according to UK media reports. King Charles' son Prince William, 40, is next in line to the throne. The coronation ceremony and festivities included traditions that have been in place for more than 1,000 years. Charles' wife, Camilla, was the first queen consort to be crowned since 1937. President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame were in attendance, along with plenty of heads of state, commonwealth leaders and politicians, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and Philippines President Bongbong Marcos.
