Charles III will be officially crowned king next month, eight months after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in a solemn religious service.
The set-piece coronation at Westminster Abbey on 6 May is the first in Britain in 70 years and only the second in history to be televised.
Charles will be the 40th monarch to be crowned at the central London church since King William I in 1066.
Outside the UK, he is also the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth countries, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
His second wife, Camilla, would be crowned queen.
For the royals, the occasion – described by the government as “a new chapter in our magnificent national story” – is cause for celebration.
There are commemorative coins and chinaware as well as a special recipe – Coronation Quiche – and a series of festive events throughout the weekend.
But with two weeks to go, there have been complaints about the cost and signs of public apathy, as well as Republican opposition plans.
Cost
The ceremony is expected to be about an hour long, with the Crown Jewels and the Coronation Chair taking center stage in the abbey.
The jewels are usually kept under lock and key in the Tower of London, while the chair has been used at every coronation ceremony since 1308.
Despite the ancient rituals of blessing an emperor with sacred holy oil, there would be some nods to modernity.
Charles and Camilla’s grandchildren will attend the ceremony, which will be witnessed by more than 2,000 invited dignitaries – a quarter of those present in 1953.
Among them will be Charles’ younger son, Prince Harry, despite his scathing criticism of royal life since moving to California three years ago.
With around 4,000 British and Commonwealth troops on board the newly formed King and Queen’s retreat route to the palace was greatly shortened.
The gilded coaches, costumed soldiers and glittering jewels come at a difficult time in Britain, as many Britons struggle with rising prices due to high inflation.
Unsurprisingly, there has been some pushback over the cost: A poll this week suggested 51 percent believed taxpayers should not foot the bill.
Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 cost £912,000 — the equivalent of £20.5 million ($25.5 million) now.
The most expensive belonged to Charles’ grandfather, George VI, in 1937. It cost £454,000, or £24.8 million in today’s money.
Senior government minister Oliver Dowden has promised there will be no “grandiosity or excess”.
But he added: “This is a wonderful moment in our history and people would not want this kind of sourness and scrawl.”
indifference
Royal history and the grandeur that goes with it is deeply embedded in British culture, with formal celebrations such as weddings and jubilees attracting huge crowds.
In 1953, the coronation of 25-year-old Elizabeth brought a touch of glamor to a country recovering from war, but this time there is little excitement.
Charles, 74, is a familiar figure, and the country has seen dramatic social and political change in the 70 years he spent as his mother’s heir apparent.
As well as being king and head of state, Charles leads the Church of England, the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
But contrary to what his mother acknowledged, church attendance has dwindled and the religion’s widespread influence in the country is waning.
At the last census in 2021, around 22.2 million people (37.2 per cent) in England and Wales reported “no religion”.
In 2011 the figure was 14.1 million (25.2 percent).
A poll this month indicated that while many people were happy to have a long weekend, just over a third (35 percent) of people “don’t care much” about the coronation.
Only a third (29 percent) said they “don’t care at all”, with apathy greatest among younger age groups.
Young people are also more likely to want an elected head of state, and Republicans have seized on the coronation to get their point across.
The campaign group is planning a protest on Republic Coronation Day, with supporters in T-shirts proclaiming “Not my King”.
Republic Chief Executive Graham Smith said, “The coronation is a celebration of hereditary power and privilege, it has no place in modern society.”
Republican sentiment has also been bubbling across the Commonwealth realms, especially in the Caribbean, which promises to reduce the British royal family’s global reach even further.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)