King Charles Will Be Decked Out In Shockingly Expensive Jewels For His Coronation
While King Charles III has already been declared king, his coronation won't be until next year. According to Bloomberg, the new monarch is slated to be crowned on June 3, 2023, at a ceremony that will be held in Westminster Abbey.
The number of guests alone makes Charles' coronation drastically different than the late Queen Elizabeth II's. In 1953, when she was crowned queen, there were 8,000 guests from 129 nations who flew all the way to London to bear witness to the event. Today, the church has put a limit of 2,000, making planning much more complicated.
However, it's still expected that Charles will be given the same service as his mother. "For more than 900 years, the coronation of a sovereign has taken place at Westminster Abbey," European royalty expert, Marlene Koenig, told Town & Country. "It is a long service. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the officiant and places a replica of St. Edward's crown from 1689 on the sovereign's head."
King Charles will also likely be decked out in royal jewels during his forthcoming coronation ceremony, many of which are shockingly expensive.
Some of King Charles' coronation jewels are worth billions
There hasn't been a coronation within the British monarchy for 70 years, so it's expected that King Charles III's upcoming ceremony will be extra special. Apparently, the new king will be donning coronation jewels amounting to almost $4 billion.
InStyle reports that he will be decked out in royal jewelry including the St. Edwards Crown, the Sovereign's Ring, the Imperial State Crown, the Sovereign's Sceptre with the dove, the Sovereign's Sceptre with the cross, the Sovereign's Orb, a Gold Ampulla, the Spurs, and the Sword of Offering — all of which total billions thanks to their diamonds, rubies, pearls, and other expensive gemstones.
Despite these reports, it has previously been claimed that King Charles' coronation will be toned down amid the United Kingdom's cost of living crisis. Sources told The Telegraph that the event will be "shorter, smaller, and less expensive" to reflect the "slimmed-down" monarchy.