Preparations are underway for the Coronation of King Charles III!
The crown he will wear has left the famous Tower of London, where it is stored with the other Crown Jewels, to undergo work to get it ready for the historic service, which will take place on Saturday, May 6, 2023.
Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday that the St. Edward Crown, which is at the center of the solemn occasion, is on its journey and will undergo some "modification work" before the Coronation in five months' time.
Charles, 74, will have the crown placed on his head at the moment of Coronation during the service at Westminster Abbey. The crown was first created for Charles II in 1661, and was a replacement for the previous crown that had been melted down in 1649.
The palace said the original was thought to date back to the 11th-century royal saint, Edward the Confessor, who was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England.
The replacement crown, commissioned from the Royal Goldsmith, Robert Vyner, in 1661, incorporated much of the original design by having four crosses-pattée and four fleurs-de-lis, as well as two arches. It is created with a solid gold frame and set with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, topazes and tourmalines. It also has a velvet cap with an ermine band.
King Charles will also likely wear the lighter Imperial State Crown as he leaves the ceremony.
That Imperial State Crown is the more commonly-used one, and like his mother, Queen Elizabeth, Charles will wear it for occasions like the State Opening of Parliament. But the St. Edward Crown is reserved for Coronations themselves, and was last used by the late Queen, who died at age 96 earlier this year.
The service is likely to be pared-back compared to Elizabeth's of almost 70 years ago, most obviously in the number of attendees.
There will be around 2,000 in the congregation, as opposed to the 8,000 who crammed into the Abbey in 1953. But palace insiders insist Charles' event will still have the grandeur and traditions that would be expected from such a unique state occasion.
