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Tag: Elizabeth II

  • A historic ceremony at Westminster Abbey saw King Charles III crowned

    A historic ceremony at Westminster Abbey saw King Charles III crowned

    The Archbishop of Canterbury crowned the King with St. Edward’s Crown.

    In nearly 90 years, Britain has crowned a new King for the first time.

    Charles III arrived at Westminster Abbey, the location of every coronation for the previous nine centuries, wearing crimson robes made for the previous monarch, his grandfather George VI.

    The King and Queen travelled 1.4 miles from Buckingham Palace on the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, which was created for his late mother Elizabeth II. Thousands of people braved the rain to cheer them on.

    The two-hour ceremony, steeped in ancient tradition but embracing 21st century values, culminated with the placing of the magnificent St Edward’s Crown on Charles’s head.

    As the longest-serving heir to the throne in history finally fulfilled his destiny, the 2,200-strong congregation – including dignitaries from 200 countries, 100 heads of state, as well as senior MPs, armed forces personnel and community and charity champions – shouted out: ‘God save the King!’

    His wife, Queen Camilla, was invested alongside him.  She will wear Queen Mary’s Crown, with the controversial Koh-i-noor diamond replaced by three from the late Queen’s personal collection. The three most recent queen consorts all had crowns specially made for their coronations.

    King Charles III arrives for his coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey, London. Picture date: Saturday May 6, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story ROYAL Coronation. Photo credit should read: Victoria Jones/PA Wire
    King Charles III arrived wearing the Robe of State, made of crimson velvet and worn by King George VI at his Coronation in 1937 (Picture: PA)

    Although a less lavish affair than his mother’s, the event is still the military’s largest ceremonial operation since Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation.

    Some 9,000 servicemen and women have been deployed, with 7,000 of these performing ceremonial and supporting roles.

    The Archbishop of Canterbury told Charles ‘we crown a King to serve’ during his coronation sermon.

    Mr Welby spoke of how ‘Jesus Christ was anointed not to be served, but to serve’ – adding: ‘The weight of the task given you today, Your Majesties, is only bearable by the spirit of God.’

    Coronation of King Charles III latest

    The Archbishop also spoke of the King’s priorities as monarch, including ‘the way we nurture and encourage the young, in the conservation of the natural world’.

    In a new element to the coronation service, Charles highlighted the ‘Called to Serve’ theme of the ceremony’s prayers when he was greeted by 14-year-old Samuel Strachan, the longest-serving chorister of the choir of the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace.

    The chorister, who attends the City of London School, welcomed the monarch in the name of the ‘King of Kings’ – a reference to Jesus Christ.

    King Charles replied: ‘In his name, and after his example, I come not to be served, but to serve.’

    The ceremony has five main elements: the Recognition; the Oath; the Anointing; the Investiture and Crowning; and the Enthronement and Homage, as well as the Queen’s coronation.

    ‘Good save King Charles’ rang out four times from the congregation during the Recognition, as the King turned to the points of the compass – east, south, west and north – and was presented to his people.

    Before the King took the Oath – making a succession of promises, including to maintain in the UK the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law – the archbishop delivered a preface to Charles’s declaration – another first.

    He told the congregation the Church of England, which is headed by the King, will seek to foster an environment where ‘people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely’ – echoing the words of the late Queen and Charles.

  • letter arrives more than a century after posting

    letter arrives more than a century after posting

    After being written more than a century ago, a letter has finally reached its intended recipient.

    To the great surprise of the current residents, the letter, which was sent in February 1916, arrived at its designated destination in south London’s Hamlet Road.

    “We noticed that it said ’16 on it.
    Hence, we mistakenly believed it to be 2016,” Finlay Glen told CNN on Thursday.
    We concluded that it couldn’t have been 2016 when we realised the stamp was a King rather than a Queen.

    Glen told CNN that the letter arrived at the property a couple of years ago, but he has only recently taken it to the local historical society, so they can research it further.

    The envelope has a 1 pence stamp bearing the head of King George V. The letter was sent in the middle of World War I – more than a decade before Queen Elizabeth II was born.

    “Once we realized it was very old, we felt that it was okay to open up the letter,” said Glen, 27.

    Under the Postal Services Act 2000, it is a crime to open mail not addressed to you. But Glen said he can “only apologize” if he’s committed a crime.

    Finlay Glen with the century-old letter, outside the Hamlet Road property.

    Finlay Glen with the century-old letter, outside the Hamlet Road property.Finlay Glen

    After realizing that the letter may be of historical interest, he gave it to the Norwood Review, a local quarterly magazine.

    “As a local historian I was amazed and delighted to have the details of the letter passed to me,” said Stephen Oxford, editor of the magazine, in a release.

    The letter was addressed to “my dear Katie,” who, according to Oxford, was the wife of local stamp magnate Oswald Marsh.

    It was written by Christabel Mennel, the daughter of tea merchant Henry Tuke Mennel, while her family was on holiday in Bath, in western England. In the letter, Mennel writes: “I’ve been most miserable here with a very heavy cold.”

    The neighborhood of south London was a hub of business activity at the time. “Lots of wealthy, middle class people moved into the area in the late 1800s,” Oxford told CNN.

    Oswald Marsh, the former resident of the Hamlet Road property, “was a highly regarded stamp dealer who was often called as an expert witness in cases of stamp fraud,” according to Oxford.

    The Norwood Review is producing a full report on the letter.

    "My dear Katie," the letter begins.

    “My dear Katie,” the letter begins.Finlay Glen

    Yet it remains a mystery as to how the letter arrived at Glen’s flat.

    “Incidents like this happen very occasionally, and we are uncertain what has happened in this incident,” a Royal Mail spokesperson told CNN in a statement Thursday.

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    “We appreciate that people will be intrigued by the history of this letter from 1916, but have no further information on what might have happened.”

    Oxford noted that the letter was postmarked “Sydenham,” an area in southeast London. He thinks it “may well have been lost sitting in a dark corner in the Sydenham sorting office and only recently discovered.”

    Glen said he and his girlfriend would be happy to give the letter to a local archive if it’s of “serious historical significance.” But, if it’s found to be more “innocuous,” he said, “it would be nice for us to be able to hold onto it.”

    Glen, a theater director and playwright, said that he doesn’t often include strange twists of fate in his plays. But, after this serendipitous delivery, “perhaps the next one will.”