Lifestyle / The Coronation Of King Charles III Was A Global Desi Affair

The Coronation Of King Charles III Was A Global Desi Affair

Lifestyle May 08, 2023

by Hina P. Ansari

On Saturday May 6th, the Coronation of King Charles took place at Westminster Abbey, with the world watching including the 20 million in the UK. The hours-long procession which was tweaked to reflect the current times and that includes the deliberate gesture to make this coronation more diverse and inclusive. The latter was definitely noted with the key South Asian dignitaries and notables who were in attendance as well as those who were active participants in this historical weekend. Check out the details here!

Westminster Abbey hosted close to 2500 invited guests from over 203 countries who were there to witness the investiture of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. There were another 4000 invited guests who were in the closed off stands adjacent to the Abbey.

**The Coronation Of King Charles III Was A Global Desi Affair: The Royal Family on the balcony following the Coronation ceremony.** Photo Credit: www.instagram.com

Pre-Coronation Festivities:

Notables from around the world were in attendance at the Coronation as well as the various celebrations around the momentous occasion.

There was a celebration of the leaders of the Commonwealth who posed for a group photo. That included PM Sunak as well as Sheikh Hasina the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankar.

The Coronation:

During the Coronation ceremony, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivered a reading from the Bible during the Coronation ceremony.

As part of the Palace’s mission to ensure that this Coronation best reflects today’s society, there was an interfaith representation marking the first time that non-Christian religious elements are official participants in the Coronation rites.

According to The Associated Press, “Charles is trying to bridge the differences between the faith groups that make up Britain’s increasingly diverse society. Achieving that goal is critical to the new king’s efforts to show that the monarchy, a 1,000-year-old institution with Christian roots, can still represent the people of modern, multicultural Britain.”

Therefore in addition to the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, there were also representatives from the Hindu, Sikh, Jewish and Muslim communities. Lord Kamall presented the King with the Armills on behalf of the Muslim community, Lord Patel presented the Sovereigns Ring on behalf of the Hindu community, and Lord Singh presented the Coronation Glove on behalf of the Sikh community.

The Coronation Of King Charles III Was A Global Desi Affair: The Official portrait of King Charles III. — **The Coronation Of King Charles III Was A Global Desi Affair: The Official portrait of King Charles III and Queen Camilla with The Royal Family.** Photo Credit: www.instagram.com

The Coronation Concert

The celebrations continued into Sunday with the official Coronation Concert which had global artists such as Lionel Ritchie, Katie Perry gracing the stage.

Among them was Sonam Kapoor who introduced a variety of notable artists and choirs from numerous Commonwealth countries.

That Coronation Choir also included members from the South Asian community wearing full cultural attire while performing BSL for the hearing impaired another level of inclusivity.

With hundreds of thousands, and tens of millions from around the world watching in person, along The Mall, or via television/digitally, the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla was for the history books. Apart from the obvious regal history, but also for the way The Royal Family was conscious of how wonderfully diverse today’s UK is from that of 80 years ago. That recognition of its progression of society in its various layers including cultural and religious was incorporated into the various ceremonies that lasted throughout the weekend. It’s a new era indeed!

Main Image Photo Credit: www.instagram.com

Hina P. Ansari

Author

Hina P. Ansari is a graduate from The University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario). Since then she has carved a successful career in Canada's national fashion-publishing world as the Entertainment/Photo Editor at FLARE Magazine, Canada's national fashion magazine. She was the first South Asian in...

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The Coronation Of King Charles III Was A Global Desi Affair

by Hina P. Ansari

Hina P. Ansari

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