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When the coronation service for King Charles begins on Saturday morning, a young Chapel Royal chorister will welcome him.
In this new greeting added to a ceremony steeped in 1,000 years of history, Charles will respond, saying that he comes “not to be served, but to serve.”
Those listening in the audience at Westminster Abbey in London will also be in marked contrast to those who were in the same place 70 years ago, for the coronation of Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth.
Rather than the many aristocrats of that day, this one will include representatives of charities, along with people who have been honoured for doing good deeds in their community.
Just how the service might seek to balance tradition with the modern day is a question that has loomed large, particularly before the order of service was released last weekend.
What stood out most for Bob Morris, a member of the honorary staff of the constitution unit at University College London, when he finally saw the liturgy was its “inclusiveness … and the attempt that runs right through it to emphasize the role of service of the monarch … to our society.”
WATCH | 5 key moments in the coronation service for King Charles:
British coronations date back nearly 1,000 years, and while much of the pomp and ceremony is steeped in history, a lot has also changed. CBC’s Travis Dhanraj breaks down five key moments to watch in the upcoming coronation of King Charles III with the help of royal commentator Justin Vovk.
Since the liturgy was released, much attention — and some controversy — has focused on one new element: an Homage of the People that replaces the Homage of the Peers.
People in the abbey and at home will be invited to declare their allegiance to the new King.
“You can see the intention, which was to replace the paying homage from the peers to broaden it out to include everyone,” said Craig Prescott, a constitutional law expert at Bangor University in Wales.
“Somehow it’s not landed that way … It came across perhaps quite medieval rather than being viewed as a modernizing thing, which is what its intention was.”
Other changes in the service include Charles offering a prayer of his own, something Morris said is “absolutely unprecedented.”
There’s also, Morris noted, a new statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury before he starts the coronation oath.
“We understand [the Archbishop has] been unhappy about … particularly the last part of the oath, which talks about supporting the privileges of the Church of England and so on and so forth,” Morris said.
“There’s a little explanation before he begins to administer the oath, which states words to the effect that the church is anxious to support an environment in which all religions … can flourish.”
For the first time, the coronation service will involve female clergy, and several representatives of different faiths.
Still, for all the changes to the service, there remains the question of how much has been achieved in attempting to balance tradition with the present.
“It seems to be that the ceremony … looks quite similar to 1953,” Prescott said.
“But the people involved are very, very different. I think that’s how they’ve squared it, in that the people who will be involved will be much more diverse.”
Princess Anne’s view
As Princess Anne sees it, there should be no surprises as her brother, King Charles, prepares to formalize his position as monarch.
“Well, you know what you’re getting, because he’s been practising for a bit, and I don’t think he’ll change,” Anne told Adrienne Arsenault, chief correspondent of CBC News, during an interview at St. James’s Palace in London. “You know, he is committed to his own level of service, and that will remain true.”
WATCH | Princess Anne speaks with the CBC’s Adrienne Arsenault:
Princess Anne invites CBC Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault into her sitting room and opens up about her brother’s coronation, the monarchy’s future, and her lifetime of service.
Going to London for the coronation
When Elizabeth Hale and Catherine Doyle learned that Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, were going to be making an appearance in central London on Thursday, they thought: Why not — let’s go check it out.
Hale and Doyle, Canadians who are in the city for the coronation, didn’t think they would see the couple, let alone get very close as William and Catherine stopped by the Dog and Duck pub in Soho.
It didn’t turn out that way.
“There we were. We shook his hand … I said, ‘Have a good time on Saturday,'” Doyle said in an interview a few hours later. “He smiled and he was in great spirits. He was really happy.”
The unexpected brush with the heir to the throne and his wife left the Canadians in great spirits, too.
“Somebody said to us, you know, you really can’t go much higher than that,” said Doyle. “The next best thing would be to meet … the King.”
Doyle, a partner in a public relations agency in Montreal, and Hale, who works for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Ottawa, have been fast friends since meeting in their first year of university about 30 years ago.
While not, as Doyle says, “major royalists,” they share an interest in the monarchy and follow it closely.
After Queen Elizabeth died last September, they were chatting about how amazing they thought it would be to be in London for the coronation. Their travel arrangements were made within a week.
“I think one of the reasons that I’m pretty excited about going to this coronation is because who knows what will happen,” Doyle said. “Will there be another one in 20 years when it’s William’s turn? How will it be handled?”
Sharon Murphy of Cambridge, Ont., is also in London for the coronation.
“I felt it was a once-in-a-lifetime occasion that I needed to attend. I want to feel the emotions and excitement of being part of history,” she said via email Thursday.
Murphy said she has strong ties to her family in England, and memories of the Royal Family from her grandmother.
Murphy travelled to London with her daughter, Stacy, and they have Canadian flags, scarves and headbands to wear while they are out and about.
“It’s so nice to show appreciation for history and the country. We’ve collectively had a terrible couple of years with COVID and I feel we all need something to celebrate.”
Doyle and Hale aren’t sure what they will do on Saturday. If the weather holds, they’ll think of trying to get as close as they can to the main procession route along The Mall, where the carriages will carry King Charles and Queen Camilla to and from the coronation service.
But the weather forecast is dodgy, and if it’s a “torrential downpour,” Doyle said, then they’re likely to opt for somewhere else as the main event unfolds.
“We have our limits,” said Hale.
No matter what, however, they are very glad to be in London right now.
“It’s a moment in history,” said Hale. “It’s just really fun to be here.”
“It’s a really special occasion,” said Doyle. “Regardless of your views on the monarchy and whether it’s needed or not needed, it’s tradition and it’s part of who we are. So I’m happy to be here.”
Prince Edward returns to Canada
The organizers who were co-ordinating Prince Edward’s visit at a Vancouver school last week had his time all mapped out when the Duke of Edinburgh took matters into his own hands.
Edward, who was on a private working visit to mark the 60th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Award in Canada, had spotted a group of students gathered to catch a glimpse of him.
“He went to just talk to all of these young people, very impromptu, with a real sort of cheeky grin on his face,” Stephen De-Wint, CEO of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award – Canada, said in an interview.
“That was nice to see. I’ve worked with His Royal Highness for quite a few years now. And that’s when he’s at his best, when he’s being impromptu and he’s asking questions of people and learning from them what things mean to them and what the award in particular means to them.”
Edward’s low-key four-day visit — his first overseas trip since being named Duke of Edinburgh by his brother King Charles in March — saw him undertake engagements in Toronto and Vancouver.
Youth and Indigenous issues featured heavily on the agenda that also saw Edward meet with nearly 100 recipients of the youth award launched by his grandfather, Prince Philip, the last Duke of Edinburgh.
“We reignited communications both between the Crown and local Indigenous communities, but also between the award as a youth provider that has a long and great history of working with Indigenous communities across Canada,” said De-Wint.
Edward has visited Canada more than 30 times, with his last trip coming in 2016.
As this most recent visit got underway, Edward “was initially very sad that it was nearly seven years since he’d been here last,” De-Wint said.
“He must have apologized four times for having not … been here as much as you would like.”
De-Wint is anticipating another visit from Edward in the not-too-distant future.
“He’s not quite given a promise, but he’s certainly given assurances that he will be back again soon to see progress and to meet people and to say again, say thank you for their commitment to developing young people.”
A medal for the coronation
The federal government is setting up a coronation medals program to recognize Canadians who have made their mark at home or abroad.
In a media release Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the program will honour 30,000 Canadians who have made “significant contributions to the country, a province, territory, region or community” or have achieved something abroad that “brings credit to Canada.”
News of the medal comes after questioning from some quarters last year over the government’s decision not to have a medal to honour Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
John Blatherwick, a retired public health leader who has 11 medals of his own, including the orders of Canada and British Columbia, sees merit in medals and was “delighted” to learn there will be one to mark the coronation.
But Wednesday’s announcement left the resident of New Westminster, B.C., with a question.
“Why be so stingy with them?” he said in an interview. “The population keeps going up and they had way more than that in the past.”
There are, of course, various views on the significance of medals, the relevance and appropriateness of them now, at a time when there is a wider reckoning with the past, not to mention the regular debate about the role of the monarchy and Canada’s connections to it.
Blatherwick said he knows people who view medals as a relic of a time that has passed.
“That’s fine. Don’t give them the medal,” he said. “But there’s a whole bunch of other people who really appreciate it.”
Blatherwick was critical of the federal government’s decision last year not to issue a Jubilee medal, and suspects there was “a lot of pressure from a lot of people” to see a coronation award created.
“I think a lot of people are saying, ‘Look, what are we doing? Are … you trying to scrap the monarchy? Are you trying to get rid of this?'” he said.
“There was probably an awful lot of pressure brought to bear by people saying, ‘Hey, you can’t keep doing what you’re doing. This is not the right thing. We are a constitutional monarchy and we at least should acknowledge that we are.'”
More details about the design and distribution of the medals will be available in the coming months, Trudeau said in the release.
Royally quotable
“Well, I think the ‘slimmed-down’ was said in a day when there were a few more people around.”
– Princess Anne, seeming not to be supportive of the idea of a “slimmed-down” monarchy, an idea long rumoured about how King Charles would change the institution. In her interview with the CBC’s Adrienne Arsenault, Anne said: “It doesn’t sound like a good idea from where I’m standing, I would say. I’m not quite sure what else we can do.”
Royal reads
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National Indigenous leaders say their historic meeting with King Charles this week marks the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between the Crown and Indigenous Peoples. [CBC]
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When the former Camilla Parker Bowles is crowned Queen alongside her husband, King Charles, it will be the culmination of a remarkable transformation. [CBC]
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Jamaica is working on a split with the monarchy as King Charles’s coronation looms. [CBC]
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Indifference reigns in India ahead of King Charles’s coronation. [CBC]
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King Charles won’t be known as “defender of the faith” in Canada — does it matter? [CBC]
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The coronation is sparking challenging conversations in the classroom, Canadian teachers say.
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Rupert Murdoch’s media business secretly paid Prince William a “very large sum of money” to quietly settle a phone-hacking claim, according to new court filings. [The Guardian]
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