King Charles III is being crowned Saturday at Westminster Abbey, in a ceremony built on ancient traditions, at a time when the monarchy faces an uncertain future, AP reports.
More than 2,000 guests, thousands of troops, tens of thousands of spectators and a smattering of protesters converged in and around the abbey as the king traveled from Buckingham Palace in a gilt-trimmed, horse-drawn carriage.
It was the final mile of a seven-decade journey for Charles from heir to monarch.
The ceremony will be filled with pomp and pageantry: There will be crowns and diamonds, soaring music, purple robes, magnificent hats — and a rousing cheer of “God Save the King” inside the abbey and in the streets outside.
As guests arrived, the church buzzed with excitement and was abloom with fragrant flowers and colorful hats. Streaming into the abbey were celebrities, dignitaries and world leaders, including U.S. First Lady Jill Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, eight current and former British prime ministers as well as Judi Dench, Emma Thompson and Lionel Richie.
Thousands of people from across the U.K. and around the world camped overnight along a 1.3-mile (2-kilometer) route. The crowds grew during morning, in intermittent rain, along the route, which the newly crowned king and Queen Camilla will take back to the palace, this time in a 261-year-old gilded carriage accompanied by 4,000 troops, forming Britain’s biggest military parade in 70 years.
To the royal family and government, the occasion — code-named Operation Golden Orb — is a display of heritage, tradition and spectacle unmatched around the world.
