by Michael Holden
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s King Charles III will host a reception for world leaders gathered in London on Friday for his coronation at the weekend, the biggest festive event in Britain for 70 years.
Carlos, 74, and his wife Camila will be crowned in London’s Westminster Abbey in a flamboyant yet solemn religious ceremony with traditions dating back nearly 1,000 years, followed by a procession resplendent with pageantry and splendor.
Supporters of the royal family have gathered on The Mall, the large street leading to Buckingham Palace, and many heads of state and dignitaries from around the world have arrived in the British capital ahead of Saturday’s event.
“It is an honor to represent the United States at this historic moment and to celebrate the special relationship between our two countries,” US First Lady Jill Biden said on Twitter before leaving for Britain.
Biden will be among world leaders attending a reception at Buckingham Palace on Friday night that will be hosted by the king and queen, along with senior members of the royal family.
Ahead, Carlos will hold a meeting with the leaders of the Commonwealth, the 56-nation voluntary association that he also chairs, while he will also welcome prime ministers and royal representatives from the other 14 territories he heads. , including Australia and Canada.
The leaders of Australia and New Zealand will take an oath of allegiance to the king at his coronation on Saturday, although both are lifelong republicans and are not shy about making their positions clear.
Across the UK, preparations have been made for the first coronation since 1953, when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was crowned. The King even ran advertisements for the London Underground network, reminding passengers to “be careful of the gap between the train and the platform.”
Charles automatically became king after Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 last September, but the coronation, while not essential, is seen as a highly symbolic moment that publicly legitimizes the monarch.
Against the backdrop of the crisis of the high cost of living, some public doubts, and in modern times, when questions are raised about the future of the institution, its role, and its financial affairs, the Saturday event will be younger than its predecessor, 70 years ago.
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing in Spanish by Jose Muñoz)
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