They hope to deliver a glove or towel to King Charles III on D-Day. Hundreds of people have turned up in hopes of being chosen to take part in Charles III’s coronation, scheduled for May 6 in London, according to the Palace of Buckingham to Sky News.
They respond to a call launched earlier in the year by a dedicated unit, the Coronation Requests Committee, responsible for finding volunteers for these honorary services.
A share tied to property or inheritance
Applications are open until February 3, but the selection criteria are strict: according to British media, only a few aristocrats can claim it.
In fact, the right to participate in the coronation of a British monarch is only obtained through property or inheritance. For example, him daily mail reported in early January that, according to protocol, the honor of handing over the glove can only go to the owner of the mansion in Worksop, Nottignhamshire.
centuries-old tradition
This committee replaces the Court of Applications, which had played the same role before the last coronation, that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, and whose first traces of activity date back to 1377.
always according to daily mailthis Court had at that time received a proposal from the Lord High Steward of Ireland, a hereditary title, to use a great white wand, or from the Duke of Somerset, who proposed to use the queen’s orb and sceptre.
A few days ago the program for the three days of festivities surrounding the coronation was announced. The ceremony, set for the morning of May 6, will take place in Westminster Abbey like previous coronations of British monarchs from 900 years ago. It will be, as tradition dictates, headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, spiritual leader of the Anglican Church.
Missed date with modernity
Last September, the British press reported that the new sovereign was considering a sober coronation, in the context of the economic crisis in the United Kingdom. But for monarchy specialist Catherine Pepinster, who trusts sky newsthis strict selection of volunteers to participate in the coronation represents a missed appointment with modernity:
“Ils auraient pu tirer au sort (…) ou choisir des gens qui ont réalisé de grandes choses pour le pays. Au lieu de ça, ils mettent l’accent sur l’hérédité et évidemment, l’hérédité est au cœur de the monarchy…”
“I don’t understand why they didn’t take this opportunity to use these little ceremonies to be more modern, thanks to the people involved,” he concludes.
Source: BFM TV
