Later, in front of the public, the King will receive his regalia, including a robe, a scepter, an orb and a ring. The archbishop will anoint the King on his hands, breast, and head. The same spoon was used during the coronation of James I in 1603 and at every subsequent coronation. The oil, which was blessed by a priest, will be poured into a coronation spoon (the oldest piece of coronation regalia, dating back to the 12th century). It will be held in an ampulla, a gold vessel in the shape of an eagle with outspread wings. The oil, known as chrism, was harvested from groves on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives and consecrated at a ceremony in the city’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This tradition goes back to the Old Testament which describes the anointing of Solomon by Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet. Charles is required to make three oaths of allegiance: one related to the Church of Scotland, which he has already done, a second oath to maintain the Protestant succession and a third, the coronation oath, which includes a promise to protect the Church of England.

The religious link is explicit in the king’s title: “Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.” He is also “Supreme Governor of the Church of England,” a legacy of Henry VIII’s break with the Catholic Church in 1534.

The central idea of the coronation is to set one human being apart from the rest as the embodiment of both crown and nation by anointing him with holy oil, according to Roy Strong, the author of the definitive history of British coronations. The event itself takes the form of a liturgy, in which the new sovereign receives holy communion. In a reflection of the UK’s constitution that binds the church and state, the ceremony will be performed by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the most senior figure in the Church of England.

Ancient darkness