The Coronation challenge
Tomorrow, King Charles III will be crowned at Westminster Abbey.
This is an historic moment in the life of the nation and Commonwealth. Charles will be the 40th monarch to be crowned at the Abbey since the Coronation of William the Conqueror, on Christmas Day in 1066.
The Coronation service is explicitly Christian, a powerful reminder of the way in which the Christian story has profoundly shaped our culture. The essential elements date back to the crowning of King Edgar at Bath Abbey in 973, when he became the first King of All England. In that service, as with tomorrow’s, there was a procession, oaths, anointing, and investiture, followed by Communion.
This article is one in a series (Connecting with Culture) from the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity.