God save the king! King Charles III has officially been crowned as the sovereign of the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth nations on Saturday, May 6.
“King of kings and Lord of lords, bless, we beseech thee, this Crown, and so sanctify thy servant Charles, upon whose head this day thou dost place it for a sign of royal majesty,” the Archbishop of Canterbury proclaimed during the service, presenting the 74-year-old king with St. Edward’s Crown. “That he may be crowned with thy gracious favor and filled with abundant grace and all princely virtues; through him who liveth and reigneth supreme over all things, one God, world without end. Amen.”
Charles was blessed and anointed during the Westminster Abbey occasion alongside his wife, Queen Camilla. The former Duchess of Cornwall, who married His Majesty in 2005, was similarly anointed as the new queen on Saturday.
“May thy servant Camilla, who wears this crown, be filled by thine abundant grace and with all princely virtues; reign in her heart,” the Archbishop said during the service. “O King of love, that, being certain of thy protection, she may be crowned with thy gracious favor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
As Camilla — whose three teenage grandsons served as her Pages of Honor — accepted her crown, she discreetly adjusted its positioning atop her head.
Charles first ascended the British throne in September 2022, immediately following the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
“My mother’s reign was unequaled in its duration, its dedication and its devotion,” Charles told the accession council at the time. “Even as we grieve, we give thanks for this most faithful life. I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty which have now passed to me.”
Nearly eight months later, Charles’ crowning ceremony was held at Westminster Abbey — the same site as Elizabeth’s own coronation in 1953 and eventual state funeral last September. The new regent’s ceremony brought together many of his royal relatives, including eldest son Prince William and his wife, Princess Kate. The Prince of Wales, 40, and the Princess of Wales, 41, walked in procession with youngest children Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5. Their firstborn, 9-year-old Prince George, served as one of Charles’ Pages of Honor and helped carry his grandfather’s stately robe during the procession.
William later had a special task during the ceremony, where he pledged his loyalty to his father as his “liege man of life and limb.”
Other family members in attendance included Charles’ second son, Prince Harry, and his siblings Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward alongside their respective children.
Scroll below to see every photo from the sovereign’s coronation:
