In a ceremony steeped in millennia of ritual and spectacle, Charles III was crowned monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 Commonwealth states on Saturday, marking Britain’s first coronation in 70 years.
After serving as his mother Queen Elizabeth II‘s heir for a lifetime, Charles, 74, was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London as the oldest sovereign to date. However, at 12:02 p.m. (1102 GMT), Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby placed the solid-gold St. Edward’s Crown on Charles’s head as a revered and historic symbol of the monarch’s authority. Queen Camilla, the wife of King Charles, was also installed.
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The crowd of 2,300 people, which included foreign royalty and political figures, cried out “God Save the King.”
US President Joe Biden, who was represented at the abbey by First Lady Jill Biden, tweeted his congratulations and praised the “enduring friendship” between the US and the UK.
Trumpet fanfares and cannon salutes rang out across the United Kingdom and beyond.
In the second horse-drawn parade of the day, the royal family appeared on the balcony to applause and more cries of approval from tens of thousands of well-wishers braving a spring downpour.
Some had been camping for days. Due to inclement weather, a ceremonial fly-past was cancelled.
