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Charles III was on Saturday crowned monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth nations after a lifetime as heir apparent to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Camilla, his wife, was crowned immediately after.
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Cries of “God Save the King” rang out from the 2,300-strong congregation at Westminster Abbey and trumpet fanfares sounded at the climax of the solemn religious confirmation of his accession.
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Outside, ceremonial gun salutes blasted out across land and sea while bells pealed in celebration at churches across the country.
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While many of the intricate rituals and ceremony to recognise Charles as his people’s “undoubted king” remained, the king sought to bring other aspects of the service up to date.
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Women bishops participated for the first time, as did leaders of Britain’s non-Christian faiths while its Celtic languages — Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic — featured prominently.
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A gospel choir sang for the first time at a coronation while a Greek choir intoned a psalm in tribute to Charles’s late father, Prince Philip, who was born on the island of Corfu.
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As king, Charles is supreme governor of the Church of England and has described himself as a “committed Anglican Christian”. But he heads a more religiously and ethnically diverse country than the one his mother inherited in the shadow of World War II.
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As such, he sought to make the congregation more reflective of British society, inviting ordinary members of the public to sit alongside heads of state and global royalty.
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In another change, the coronation themes mirrored his lifelong interest in biodiversity and sustainability. Ceremonial vestments from previous coronations were reused, and the anointing oil used was vegan.
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Rishi Sunak — Britain’s first prime minister of colour, who gave a reading from the Bible at the service — has described the coronation as “a proud expression of our history, culture and traditions”.
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Earlier, the police arrested dozens of protesters of the anti-monarchy group Republic as they prepared to protest along the route of a procession for the coronation.
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