A gathering of about 100 world leaders and a television audience of millions across the world watched in awe yesterday as King Charles III was crowned in Britain’s biggest ceremonial event for seven decades; a sumptuous display of pageantry dating back 1,000 years. An estimated crowd of 2 million others massed on the streets of a rainy London after the historic first coronation in Britain since 1953.
But it was not all cheers across the country as the police smashed a rally by anti-monarchy protesters who were calling for the abrogation of the throne.
The protesters’ van full of ‘Not My King’ banners was scoured by the police.
Human Rights Watch described the arrest as incredibly alarming. “This is something you would expect to see in Moscow not London,” it said in a statement in London.
President-elect Bola Tinubu expressed his desire for further engagements between Nigeria and Britain in the years ahead.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, placed the 360-year-old St Edward’s Crown on Charles’ head as he sat upon a 14th Century throne in Westminster Abbey.
The historic and solemn event dates back to the time of the 74-year-old’s predecessor William the Conqueror in 1066.
Charles’ second wife Camilla, 75, was also crowned queen during the two-hour ceremony, which while rooted in history, was also an attempt to present a forward-looking monarchy, with those involved in the service reflecting a more diverse Britain and leaders from all faiths.
