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☆ Prince Harry Sidelined at King Charles III’s Coronation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON— Prince Harry sat several rows back in Westminster Abbey on Saturday watching as his older brother, Prince William , knelt and pledged loyalty before his father, King Charles III . The moment, halfway through the king’s coronation, was a striking image of a family disunited and a reminder of the differing paths the two royal brothers have taken in the last three years.

☆ For King Charles, a Detente Emerges in Relationship With U.K. Media
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( David Luhnow | Alistair Macdonald | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

People in Piccadilly Circus during the coronation of King Charles III. Photo: Cover Images/Zuma PressLONDON—King Charles III’s coronation this weekend got rave reviews from the British press, part of what appears to be a fragile truce between the notoriously aggressive U.K. media and the new king, after a long and sometimes frosty relationship. The former Prince of Wales has had a famously fraught time with the British press, especially when he had an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, now his wife and queen, while married to Diana, princess of Wales. He was also mocked for years over everything from his ears to his penchant for talking to plants.

☆ Who Pays for King Charles III? The Answer Is Changing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Stephen Wilmot | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Details of King Charles III’s personal wealth are a closely held secret. WSJ breaks down what is known about the monarch’s assets, his income streams and what he inherited from Queen Elizabeth II. Photo: Hannah McKay/AFPThe funding of the British monarchy, never clean, is getting messier. The transfer of ceremonial power from the late Queen Elizabeth II to her son, King Charles III , reached a climax with Saturday’s coronation in London. Behind the scenes, the company that finances the public activities of Britain’s royal family is also undergoing a radical generational change.

☆ King Charles III’s Coronation to Draw Global Audience for Lavish Ceremony
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON—Millions of people are expected to watch on Saturday as the archbishop of Canterbury places a jewel-encrusted gold crown on King Charles III ’s head to the sound of trumpets and gun salutes in a coronation ceremony that dates back 1,000 years. The event in Westminster Abbey is one Britons haven’t witnessed for 70 years. It is the only coronation ceremony left in Europe, a throwback to a bygone age when all-powerful monarchs dictated the fates of nations. In the U.K., that regal power is now largely ceremonial, but the pomp and history remain.

London CNN —The coronation of King Charles III on Saturday was a historic day, jam-packed with events – some planned, others not. The crowning eventCharles was hidden from view for the most dramatic part of the service at London’s Westminster Abbey on Saturday. King Charles III sits as he receives The St Edward's Crown during the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London, Saturday, May 6, 2023. Lady in bluePenny Mordaunt leads King Charles III during his coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey. Queen Camilla and King Charles III arrive for their coronation at Westminster Abbey.

☆ Missed the Coronation? Here’s What Happened, From the Crown to the Crowds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Setting the theme of the resplendent yet intimate-for-a-royal coronation ceremony, King Charles III’s first remarks at the beginning of the two-hour spectacle in Westminster Abbey were: “I come not to be served, but to serve.”In the crowning moment — literally — Charles was seated on the 700-year-old Coronation Chair, believed to be the oldest piece of furniture in Europe still being used for its original purpose, and holding two golden scepters as the glittering St. Edward’s Crown was placed on his head. It is the only time he will ever wear it. Charles looked particularly solemn as he wore the crown, made for King Charles II in 1661, the moment for which he has waited over seven decades. The echo of Queen Elizabeth II, his late mother, who also held two scepters at the same moment in her 1953 coronation, was profound. In the Abbey, soaring orchestral and choral music followed, while cheers erupted from a crowd gathered in front of Buckingham Palace, as the boom of the gun salute marked King Charles’s crowning.

☆ The U.S. Guide to King Charles III’s Coronation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( David Luhnow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

King Charles III will hold his official coronation on Saturday. Coronations are a rare event nowadays; this is the first such event in 70 years in Britain, the only Western nation that still has a coronation ceremony. In Britain, such ceremonies are recorded as far back as 973 when Anglo-Saxon King Edgar was crowned in Bath Abbey. The coronation isn’t the moment the monarch becomes king or queen. Rather, it symbolizes the conferring of God’s grace upon the sovereign, which is why it is part of a religious service.

Charles III has commissioned new works for his coronation, adding to the rich tapestry of pieces composed for the occasion. The first coronation music was likely sung chants, which, starting in 1603 with the coronation of James I, were refashioned into coronation anthems now with English text. Both have since become staples in the coronation service. And at the most recent coronation, comparisons between Elizabeth II and Charles III are unsurprisingly being made. Charles III’s coronation is set to usher in the new Carolean era, in the hopes that it will reflect its namesake Charles II and his contributions to art and music.

☆ Jill Biden arrives in London for the pomp and pageantry of King Charles III’s coronation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Betsy Klein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —First lady Dr. Jill Biden has arrived in London, where she is set to bear witness to the full pomp and pageantry of the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, leading the US delegation to this weekend’s highly anticipated events. President Joe Biden spoke by phone last month with King Charles, congratulating him on his coronation as he reaffirmed the strong ties between the UK and US. As reports surfaced that President Biden would not attend the coronation, despite the expected presence of dozens of world leaders, US officials downplayed the possibility and noted that no previous US president has attended a British monarch’s coronation. The president told the king that the first lady would be attending the coronation, but made clear in the call that he plans to meet with King Charles in the future. “We really talked about the woman, and who she was, and what she meant really to the whole world,” Biden said, adding that she noted to King Charles the human toll of grief.

London CNN —Britain’s Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, will walk to King Charles III’s coronation, in keeping with Shabbat laws as the ceremony takes place on a Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath and day of rest. “So (they) have invited us to be their guests in St. James’ Palace over the Sabbath.”St. James’ Palace is about 15 minutes’ walk from Westminster Abbey, where the coronation will take place. As well as refraining from using vehicles during Shabbat, Jews also observe a “digital detox,” as the Chief Rabbi put it. The Chief Rabbi spoke to CNN's Bianca Nobilo outside Buckingham Palace. Although the monarchy is steeped in Christianity – the sovereign is also the head of the Church of England – the Chief Rabbi praised Charles’ “wonderful sensitivity” and inclusion of other faiths.

☆ Watch: Royal Fans Camp Out Ahead of King Charles III’s Coronation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Your AI Clone Can Fool Family, Your Bank, But Not Your Video MeetingYou can pay companies to create video and audio versions of yourself using generative artificial intelligence. But how well does it work? WSJ senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern joins host Zoe Thomas to explain what it was like to work with her AI clone, and why it has her worried. Illustration: Amogh Alva Vaz/WSJ

☆ As a King Is Crowned, Some Britons Ask Why the Monarchy Persists
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Sarah Lyall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a scene in the 1975 movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” King Arthur roams around the English countryside attempting to gather knights for the Round Table. When he declares, “I am your king!” to a deeply unimpressed peasant, her response is both absurd and blindingly obvious. As long as there has been a monarch in this country — for more than a 1,000 years — there have been questions about the legitimacy of the monarchy. “One of the reasons that the monarchy persists is that we don’t often have serious conversations about why we have a monarchy,” said Alastair Bellany, an English-born historian at Rutgers University specializing in 16th- and 17th-century Britain. I think a serious country has to look in the mirror.

☆ Opinion: Why Britain is so weirded out by pledging allegiance to Charles
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Opinion Laura Beers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In a break with tradition, the public will be invited to pledge allegiance to King Charles III during the coronation ceremony on Saturday May 6. While many Brits I’ve spoken to are simply indifferent to the proposed pledge, there has also been an unprecedent degree of public vitriol over the scheme. Yet, objections to the proposed pledge are as much about its content as its form. The proposed coronation pledge, in contrast, invites Britons to pledge their loyalty to the King, and to his “heirs and successors” – a positively undemocratic pronouncement. That complexity cannot simply be smoothed away by inviting people to pledge allegiance to the crown.

☆ King Charles III’s Coronation Guest List Targets Diversity and Inclusion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Memorabilia to commemorate King Charles III’s coronation, which is due to take place in London on Saturday. Photo: Thomas Krych/Zuma PressLONDON—Watching on as King Charles III is crowned in Westminster Abbey on Saturday will be an unusually eclectic group of people, a guest list that reflects the monarch’s drive to keep the institution relevant through diversity and a greater connection with ordinary Britons, even if that means quite a few aristocrats have been snubbed. Among those expected to attend in person as the new king is anointed with holy oil will be pop star Lionel Richie, U.S. first lady Jill Biden, the king of Tonga, the magician Dynamo, French President Emmanuel Macron and Max Woosey, a teenage boy who camped in his garden for three years to raise money for charity.

☆ Princess Anne: Slimmed-down royal family 'doesn't sound like a good idea'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —King Charles III’s sister Princess Anne has said that a slimmed-down monarchy “doesn’t sound like a good idea.”Comments by the Princess Royal, who is 16th in line to the British throne and is considered to be one of the hardest-working royals, were made during a wide-ranging interview Monday. In the years before Queen Elizabeth II’s death, the royal family’s advisers had been promoting the idea of a slimmed-down monarchy that saw senior family members like Charles and Camilla as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales take on more duties. “Well, I think the ‘slimmed-down’ [comment] was said in a day when there were a few more people around … [to] make that seem like a justifiable comment,” Anne told CBC News’ Adrienne Arsenault. “It doesn’t sound like a good idea from where I’m standing, I would say. King Charles III and Princess Anne pictured at their mother's funeral.

☆ Photo of Princess Charlotte released for her eighth birthday
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The Prince and Princess of Wales have released a new photograph of their daughter, Princess Charlotte, to mark her eighth birthday on Tuesday. Shared the evening before her birthday, the photo shows Charlotte sitting in a white chair wearing a white floral dress and smiling at the camera. “Wishing Princess Charlotte a very happy birthday! 8 tomorrow,” the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official Twitter account said, alongside a balloon and birthday cake emoji. Charlotte was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in west London and is third in line to the British throne, after her father Prince William and older brother Prince George, 9.

☆ Chocolate King Charles III sculpture unveiled to celebrate coronation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A life-sized chocolate bust of Britain’s King Charles III weighing 23 kilograms (more than 50 pounds) has been unveiled by confectionery brand Celebrations to mark the forthcoming coronation. One of each of the Celebrations chocolates, including Snickers, was used to create the medals on his chest. Celebrations is all about bringing people together and we are thrilled to be sharing this occasion with so many chocolate lovers up and down the country,” she added. The chocolate bust will be on display in the southeastern English town of Slough at Mars Wrigley UK HQ, the headquarters of Mars, which owns the Celebrations brand. King Charles III’s coronation will take place on May 6 in London’s Westminster Abbey.

Coronations at Westminster Abbey go back almost one thousand years. Like Charles III, William had his coronation at Westminster Abbey. Gross says coronation blunders do not become truly significant for monarchs until their reign starts to go wrong. A “beautiful and symbolic” silver cross containing a piece of the so-called True Cross will lead King Charles’ coronation procession in London next month. Meanwhile, gun salutes will sound from military bases and ships at sea to mark the moment Charles is crowned King.

☆ King Charles III’s Trip to France Postponed Amid Unrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

King Charles III is still set to visit Germany as planned. PARIS—The French government postponed a visit by Britain’s King Charles III amid widespread strikes that threatened to disrupt a protocol-heavy event aimed at solidifying Anglo-French ties that had been strained by Brexit. President Emmanuel Macron ’s office said the government decided to reschedule the king’s first overseas official visit after unions called for a day of new nationwide protests on Tuesday against the government’s pension overhaul.

☆ Kim Kardashian buys Princess Diana’s amethyst and diamond cross for $197,453
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Liz Calvario | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Kim Kardashian is now the owner of one of Princess Diana’s precious jewels. The “Kardashians” star bought the Princess of Wales’ amethyst and diamond Attallah Cross for $197,453, Sotheby’s London announced on Jan. 18. The piece was worn by Diana on Oct. 27, 1987, when she attended a charity gala in London. Diana, Princess Of Wales, arrives at a charity gala wearing a gold and amethyst crucifix in 1987. Diana’s famous sapphire engagement ring, which now belongs to the new Princess of Wales, the former Kate Middleton, was also designed by Garrard.

☆ British Bank Notes With King Charles III’s Portrait Won’t Circulate Until 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Alyssa Lukpat | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Currency with the image of Britain’s new King Charles III won’t circulate until the middle of 2024, the Bank of England said. One of the many changes that comes with the new sovereign is rebranding the U.K.’s bank notes, which for the past seven decades have featured Queen Elizabeth II on the front. The Bank of England, the U.K.’s central bank, said that once the currency featuring the king is released, it will circulate alongside bank notes with the queen’s portrait.

Share this -Link copiedThe full order of service for the funeral at Westminster Abbey The funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II is underway at Westminster Abbey. Police officers patrol outside Westminster Abbey in London on Monday, ahead of the state funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II. The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II leaves Westminster Hall for her funeral service in Westminster Abbey. Around 2,300 police officers will line the route from Westminster Abbey to Windsor Castle and 1,000 police officers will line the route from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch. Share this -Link copiedBuckingham Palace releases previously unseen portrait of queen Queen Elizabeth II, photographed at Windsor Castle in May 2022.

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