In this bonus episode of Hot off the Wire, we look at the United Kingdom’s coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.Â
Charles ascended to the throne on September 8, 2022, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. However, the coronation ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 6, starting at 11 a.m. local time and ending at 1 p.m.
Here in the United States, that two-hour ceremony will begin at 6 a.m. Eastern, 3 a.m. Pacific. Viewers in the U.S. can watch the festivities on most broadcast and cable news channels. Check your local listings for details.
In this episode, listen to updates from The Associated Press on both the ceremony and the drama.
— Compiled and narrated by Terry Lipshetz from Associated Press reports
Episode transcript
Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically.
That music is of the Brixton Chamber Orchestra from April 21st rehearsing in South London ahead of the Coronation Carnival and courtesy The Associated Press. In this bonus episode of Hot Off the Wire, we look at the United Kingdom's coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Charles ascended to the throne on September 8, 2022, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
However, the coronation ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 6, starting at 11 a.m. local time and ending at 1 p.m. Here in the United States, that two hour ceremony will begin at 6 a.m. Eastern, 3 a.m. Pacific. Viewers in the U.S. can watch the festivities on most broadcast and cable news channels. Check your local listings for details.
And now the latest updates from The Associated Press on both the ceremony and the drama. King Charles, the third plans to take a shortcut and smooth a ride to Westminster Abbey for his coronation. Charles, is innovation tremulous at the procession route his mother, Queen Elizabeth, took in 1953 as he aims for a more modest event that will include some modern touches.
Buckingham Palace says, however, the lower key ceremony on May six will still be steeped in ancient traditions and adorned with the royal regalia from the crown jewels, but will also feature its bespoke emoji, reflecting the first British crowning of the social media era Queen Elizabeth. The second was the first coronation televised 70 years ago. The 1.3 mile route is a bit shorter than the one Elizabeth took to the Royal Church, passing a statue of Charles, the first the monarch beheaded in 1649 before arriving for the 11 a.m. religious service.
Charles de Ledesma, London.
King Charles III joins as many as 2800 guests for his coronation on May the sixth at Westminster Abbey. His complicated family will once again take center stage. There's a second wife, an embarrassing brother, and an angry son and daughter in law, all with allies who aren't shy about whispering family secrets in the ears of friendly reporters.
How King Charles manages his family drama over the coming weeks and years is crucial to the king's efforts to preserve and protect the 1000 year old hereditary monarchy. Editor of Majesty magazine Jay Little, says Charles's ongoing family drama was never going to justice appear. I think it was inevitable that when Charles became king, the loss of the personal stuff would come back to haunt him.
Royal historian Robert Lacey says the standards were set too high. The British monarchy is supposed to be representative, and that used to be thought to mean It's got to be ideal, it's got to behave in absolute, immaculate fashion. Well, that wasn't realistic and proved not to be realistic in facts. Lacey believes Charles's fractious family may be easier for the British public to identify with.
But I think most people in Britain find an imperfect and honest family easier to live with. Karen Chammas, London.
Buckingham Palace says Prince Harry will attend his father's May 6th coronation. Harry's attending the coronation service of his father, King Charles, the third at Westminster Abbey. Setting aside months of speculation about his presence. The palace adds Harry's wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain in California with the couple's two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Harry's attendance comes despite a rift within at the House of Windsor, prompted by Harry's decision to reveal family secrets in his bestselling book Spare. Charles de Ledesma, London.
As the coronation of King Charles, The third fast approaches. All eyes are on Camilla, the queen consort who will be crowned alongside her husband's. The moment will mark the culmination of years of efforts that helped to transform her image from being one of the most reviled women in the country to becoming a likable, down to earth hard worker.
Ingrid Seward, editor in chief of Majesty magazine, explains. Just by giving it time and going gently, gently, she has managed to show people the real person that she is and that she's not this villainous. However, spiritedness, her triumph is not a complete one. But there are still people in this country and there are a lot of people abroad who will never forgive her for being the third person in the marriage.
Camilla herself admitted last year in an interview with Vogue magazine that she had learned to live with the scrutiny of her past. Karen Chammas, London.
Towns and cities will be awash with union flags and patriotic decorations to celebrate King Charles the Third's coronation this weekend. But the events, viewed with a large dose of ambivalence by some in Britain's diverse communities.
Darren White, a descendant of migrants from Jamaica, and Adriano Phillips Durrant, a musicians with the Brixton Chamber Orchestra here, rehearse ahead of the Coronation Carnival. While whites excited about the gig, he tells the Associated Press that some might find it hard to connect to the whole occasion. With the economy on the precipice of recession. While Forbes says it's strange that the event would happen at a time when people don't really have the money to get by.
I have mixed opinions on kind of on general, kind of like the royal family and the coronation. Just but just because I think that there are, you know, bigger things happening in Britain right now. Across the capital, John Pan, Basra, the head of Southall Community Alliance, says people are going through a cost of living crisis. Is it fair that there is so much attention and resource being put into a massive coronation celebration when people are in record numbers having to rely upon food banks facing poverty on a believable scale?
Elsewhere in Southall, proprietor guru Anand recalls the Royals demeanor when he ate at his restaurant. Charles, he says, actually listens to you, wants to know where you've come from. Charles de Ledesma, London.
Thousands of British military personnel will join King Charles's coronation. The UK Defense Ministry says 6000 troops, including soldiers, sailors and aviators, will participate on May 6th, making it the force's biggest ceremonial deployment for seven decades.
Thousands of them will escort the king and Camilla, the queen consort, as they travel by gilded horse drawn coach between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey. Gun salutes will sound from British army bases and warships and military aircraft, including World War two. Spitfires will perform a flypast. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace calls it a spectacular and fitting tribute to King Charles, who is the armed forces commander in chief.
Mimi Montgomery, London.
Tourism industry officials have high hopes the May six coronation of King Charles will provide a vital boost to the industry, which is still reeling from two years of COVID 19 shutdowns.
Outside Buckingham Palace, Patricia Yates, chief executive of the VisitBritain Tourism Board, says she hopes next week's coronation, the first for nearly 70 years, will be a great success. Events like this really kick start at the recovery, don't they? And they put Britain on the world stage again. And goodness, we do that so well. Pageantry around the coronation will just be amazing.
History, heritage and the Royals are the biggest draw for international tourists, Yates adds. And royalty, a particular magnet for Americans who are driving the country's tourism recovery. Queen Elizabeth. The second platinum Jubilee celebrations last year brought in an extra 2.6 million visitors to London, and Charles's coronation is expected to have a similar effect. Visitors to London's Westminster Abbey will be allowed to stand for the first time on the exact spot where King Charles The third will be crowned, though they'll need to make sure they don't have holes in their socks for the Shoot US tour meant to protect the Abbey's medieval mosaic floor.
Abbey officials say the section of the church's floor, known as the Cosmati Pavement, where the coronation chair has been placed for some 700 years, will be on display during Charles's crowning ceremony. Vanessa Simeon, head conservator at Westminster Abbey, says it will be a unique visitor experience. It's such a rare opportunity. Nobody apart from the clergy go up to this space.
So for visitors to come here and be able to walk on the pavement and get up close and look at the designs and all the different materials that make up this incredible piece of art, it's going to be just a once in a lifetime experience. The intricate mosaic of marble, stone, glass and metal located in front of the Abbey's high altar was commissioned by Henry the third in the 1200s and made by Italian craftsmen.
It's said to be the best surviving example outside Italy, of course, Marti after the Italian family which created it. Charles de Ledesma, London.
The Biden administration is defending the decision to have First Lady Jill Biden attend King Charles Third's coronation instead of her husband. The president told the king in a call his wife will attend on America's behalf. We're proud that she's going to be representing the United States.
Asked why the president himself will not be at Westminster Abbey, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said there is precedent. President Eisenhower did didn't attend Queen Elizabeth's coronation either. In fact, no sitting U.S. president has ever attended a British royal coronation. On the events invitations, Buckingham Palace officially identifies the king's wife for the first time as Queen Camilla. Sagar Meghani, Washington.
I'm Terry Lipshetz, thanking you for listening. Audio provided by The Associated Press. Music is by Skilsel and provided through Pixabay. Be sure to subscribe to Hot off the Wire on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss an episode.