Amid the tradition of King Charles's coronation, a drive for a more modern monarchy
Music in ceremony at Westminster Abbey one element that combined old and new
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As the rituals of the coronation unfolded for King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Saturday, the ceremony steeped in 1,000 years of history also offered a sense of a monarchy wanting to find a way to reflect and relate to the world today.
There was, of course, at the heart of it all the elaborate regalia and traditions of a Church of England service that culminated in the placing of crowns on the heads of Charles and Camilla.
But within the grey stone walls of Westminster Abbey in London, there were moments and messages that also seemed focused on a monarchy trying to offer a more contemporary view.
"This is going to remain a monarchy that is based on the historical tradition and precedent and legitimacy, but ... is willing and has the ability to integrate modern elements into this existing structure," Justin Vovk, a royal commentator and a PhD candidate at McMaster University in Hamilton who specializes in the history of the monarchy, said in an interview.
This is not any kind of modernization on a fast or sweeping scale, but certainly the ceremony on Saturday offered noticeable change in several respects from what happened the last time around, on another rainy day, for Charles's mother, Queen Elizabeth, in 1953.
And the changes started early in the ceremony, which clocked in at about two hours, an hour shorter than 70 years ago.
"You still had the recognition of the King, but ... that was updated," Judith Rowbotham, a social and cultural scholar and visiting research professor at the University of Plymouth in southwestern England, said in an interview.
In that moment, the monarch is presented in four directions, representing the four points of the compass. Traditionally it has been done solely by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but this time around, he was joined by three other people who, in the words of the Church of England, have shown "different elements of service, honour and duty."
"So ... you don't kick the archbishop out. He does the first presentation. But then he's joined by others," said Rowbotham, who saw it as an example of "modernizing without losing" tradition.
"I thought that was clever."
That same moment and the involvement of others in the ceremony also caught the eye of Craig Prescott, a constitutional law expert at Bangor University in Wales, who thought that it all seemed very "natural."
"You can force these things and it can become tokenistic," he said in an interview. "And [it] didn't feel like that from what I saw."
Music throughout the service also reflected a blend of old and new. The traditional anthem, Handel's Zadok the Priest, filled the abbey during the private moments of Charles's anointing behind a screen, but new to the service was a stirring performance of Alleluia by gospel singers.
"I thought that was phenomenal because it was visceral, it was energetic and you could see that people in the audience were engaging with it. They were actively enjoying it," Vovk said.
"It was a very moving moment for the performers, and it was something that was fresh but also felt germane. It felt like it fit into the ceremony."
Ahead of the coronation, there had been much focus on just how the ceremony might seek to walk the line between the past and the present. And in a world where there is a wider reckoning with the past and regular debate about the role of the monarchy, how would the ceremony be received?
In London, even in the drenching rain, masses of people lined the parade route.
The size of the crowds was particularly notable to Prescott, who was near Buckingham Palace throughout the morning.
"This is a first big royal event without Elizabeth, and it seemed that the Royal Family is still as big a draw as ever."
High-profile royal events have been known for their pomp and pageantry, as well as for their precision. This one was no exception.
"There were no obvious stumbles. There were no obvious problems," Rowbotham said, noting that perhaps Charles was even a bit early to the abbey, as he and Camilla waited for five minutes or so before getting out of the Diamond Jubilee State Coach.
"I think overall it will be judged to be a successful coronation rather than one that was unsuccessful, like the coronations of George III, which was a heaving mess, very disorganized — and the coronation of William IV was not particularly well handled, nor indeed was Queen Victoria's."
Prescott also saw it as a success — and a particularly notable moment for Charles.
"It ... has confirmed him as King. I think, seeing him wearing the crown ... that's such a significant moment really," Prescott said.
"He might now start to think about changing the Royal Family and ... perhaps doing some of the things that have been talked about, that this is the first big, huge hurdle that he's overcome."
A family in the spotlight
As much as the coronation was focused on the formalities of the day, it also put the spotlight on the members of the Royal Family.
And in the camera glare, observers were making note of any friendly glance, show of emotion or sense of how they get along with one another.
Charles "looked so stoic," Vovk said.
"He was pretty sombre throughout the entire thing. But when he got to speak to the different religious leaders at the end, that's where he seemed to start cracking a smile. A bit more of his own personality started coming through again."
Rowbotham had wondered if Camilla would be nervous and tense. "She did not come across that way. She smiled, she smiled at Charles," Rowbotham said.
"From what you could see inside the coach on the way there, they were doing well, happy and comfortable in each other's company and delighted to see the way that the crowds had turned out."
Prince William also had a role in the proceedings and paid homage to father, promising to be his "liege man of life and limb," touching Charles's crown and kissing his cheek.
"That wasn't just ceremony," Rowbotham said. "That came across as genuine, not just ritual."
William's son, Prince George, had his own responsibilities, serving as one of the pages to his grandfather. Camilla's three grandsons and a great-nephew served as her pages.
William's brother, Harry, no longer a working member of the Royal Family, had a much lower profile, as expected, sitting in the third row with his cousins. His wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, had remained at home in California with their children.
But Harry, whose memoir Spare was released in January, didn't stay around long, reportedly getting back to Heathrow Airport promptly after the service — presumably to fly back home, where son Archie is celebrating his fourth birthday on Saturday.
Harry "was a bit of a wallflower, which I think was probably for the best for everybody to avoid any sort of sense of controversy," Vovk said.
Prince Andrew, the King's brother, was in attendance, but also with a relatively low profile — something that struck Prescott when he saw the Duke of York leave Buckingham Palace on his own in a car for the abbey long before other royals were making their way there.
"Nothing says you're out of the working and the central part of the Royal Family like being sent out early, out of the way of everyone else," Prescott said.
The senior members came together on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after the coronation, along with a few others.
"That was very interesting because I think everybody was expecting it to be the King, Queen and the Waleses," Vovk said, "as opposed to being a rather eclectic mix of members."
Prescott saw the balcony appearance indicating "there's now a distinct sort of series of levels in the Royal Family."
"You have the King and Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, the other working members of the Royal Family — and then those who aren't working members of the Royal Family and they don't take part in these sort of occasions."
Canada and the coronation
Coronation day brought some marked changes to Canada's royal symbols.
During a ceremony in Ottawa, Canada Post unveiled a stamp depicting King Charles that will be issued on Monday.
The King will replace his mother on Canadian coins and the $20 bill. The federal government also unveiled a new design of the Canadian crown, a symbol that sits atop Canada's coat of arms.
That Charles will be on the $20 surprised Vovk.
"Everything I was hearing was sort of indicating Canada was not going to be doing that," he said. "It's a simple but I think a very clear statement of at least co-operation with the monarchy moving forward."
In London, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Gov. Gen. Mary Simon were among those representing Canada at the ceremony.
Members of the RCMP also rode in the procession following the ceremony back to Buckingham Palace. Forty-five members of the Canadian Armed Forces were also in the procession.
While Charles's oath made mention of the Commonwealth realms, it was only a general reference. Individual realms were not noted, something Prescott saw as a potential constitutional misstep in a service that had a lot of creativity elsewhere.
"He is King of Canada, and why not say that?" Prescott said.
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With files from CBC News
