LONDON (AP) — King Charles III was crowned Saturday at Westminster Abbey, in a ceremony steeped in ancient ritual and brimming with bling at a time when the monarchy is striving to remain relevant in a fractured modern Britain.
At a coronation with displays of royal power straight out of the Middle Ages, Charles was given an orb, a sword and scepter and had the solid gold, bejeweled St. Edward’s Crown placed atop his head as he sat upon a 700-year-old oak chair.
In front of world leaders, foreign royals, dignitaries and a smattering of stars, the monarch declared, “I come not to be served but to serve,” and was presented as Britain’s “undoubted king.”
