Long Live The King!

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Today, Britain remains in the grips of the worst costof-living crisis in a generation The 1953 coronation of Elizabeth II was seen as a breakthrough in broadcasting, as it was the first shown on TV More than 14 million people tuned in to watch King Charles III's coronation on BBC television, the corporation said on Sunday

Approximately 2 million people were on the streets, braving the weather on Saturday 6 May to partake in the coronation celebration and catch a glimpse of the procession to Westminster Abbey and back

Compared to Queen Elizabeth II’s, Charles’ coronation was a more scaled-back affair, with fewer people in attendance and a shorter service and procession than his mother’s

Whereas the Queen was crowned alone in 1953 (her husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh, was not, as is custom for the consorts of female sovereigns), Charles was crowned alongside his wife, the now Queen Camilla At King Charles’ coronation, there was a greater effort to make the service more inclusive and reflective of Britain’s diversity, most notably through the inclusion of a diverse array of faith leaders In King Charles’ coronation oath, he said: “Grant that I may be a blessing to all thy children, of every faith and belief, that together we may discover the ways of gentleness and be led into the paths of peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen ”

One of the starkest differences between King Charles’ and Queen Elizabeth’s coronations was their oaths When Elizabeth II became queen, Britain was still very much an empire and, as such, she pledged to “ govern the People of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon, and of your Possessions and other Territories ”

King Charles, meanwhile, now rules over a considerably smaller realm

In his oath, he pledged only to “ govern the People of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, your other Realms and the Territories ” The King knelt before the Altar and said, “God of compassion and mercy whose Son was sent not to be served but to serve, give grace that I may find in thy service perfect freedom and in that freedom knowledge of thy truth Grant that I may be a blessing to all thy children, of every faith and belief, that together we may discover the ways of gentleness and be led into the paths of peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen ”

The Coronation of King Charles III was a three-day affair that celebrated Britain’s diversity in its truest form

"As my grandmother said when she was crowned, coronations are a declaration of our hopes for the future And I know she's up there, fondly keeping an eye on us, and she'd be a very proud mother," Charles' heir, William, said in a speech at the evening concert at Windsor on May 7, to huge cheers

Th ree-day festiviti es

Across the Coronation Weekend, there were further opportunities for people to come together in celebration of the historic occasion On Sunday, 7th May 2023, a special Coronation Concert was staged and broadcast live at Windsor Castle by the BBC and BBC Studios, with several thousand pairs of tickets to be made available via a public ballot It was attended by many renowned British Indians, including actor Sonam Kapoor who gave a short speech on the Commonwealth, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty called it a date night The Coronation Big Lunch, at which neighbours and communities were invited to share food and fun together, took place across the country on the same date On Monday, 8th May 2023, members of the public were invited to take part in The Big Help Out, which encouraged people to try volunteering for themselves and join the work being undertaken to support their local areas More than 2,200 people were invited to the Coronation of King Charles

The final guest list included members of the Royal family, representatives from

Coronation Service were instrumental in providing services and support to their local communities during the Covid-19 lockdowns Dr Hareen De Silva received a

203 countries and approximately 100 heads of state Dame Emma Thompson, Katy Perry and Ant and Dec were among the first celebrities to arrive at Westminster Abbey Mu ltifaith blessings

From Hindus in India to Jewish settlers in the West Bank and fundamentalist Christians in the United States King Charles tried to bridge the differences between the faith groups that make up Britain’s increasingly diverse society

The king’s commitment to diversity was on display at his coronation when religious leaders representing the Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh traditions for the first time played an active role in the ceremonies

Go p al K a mb o , a graduate studying Masters's at Cambridge in music and was selected to join the choir for his musical ability The fact he is able to do that and still identifies as himself puts paid to the myth that the royals are not inclusive Raghav Das, a 16-year-old from India’s Bihar state was among the attendees who was one of the 48 King’s Scholars at the Westminster School of London in the choir His mother Dr Shikta Das was a professor at The Imperial College London

Amongst other dignitaries of Indian origin who graced the occasion, was B ri ti s h S i kh Lo r d I nd ar j i t S i ng h o f Wi mbledo n presented the Glove to hold the Sovereign Sceptre during the Crowning of King Charles III, Lo rd S yed K amall, 56, of Indo-Guyanese heritage, represented the Muslim faith and presented the Armills or a pair of bracelets and Lo r d N ar en dr a B ab u b h a i P at el , 84, represented the Hindu faith and handed over the Sovereign's Ring BEM recip ients attend the Coronation Service

Many of the BEM recipients who attended the

British Empire Medal for services to general practice during Covid-19

Throughout the pandemic, he worked in various settings including NHS Nightingale, the Test and Trace service, and GP clinics in London B an s ar i Ru p arelia’s British Empire to 80 food banks and supported over 40 hospitals by providing PPE who graduate of the Prince’s Foundation Building Craft Programme and an alumnus of the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts who attended the coronation D r I s a ac Mathai, a Bengaluru-based doctor was also among the esteemed attendees He is the chairman of SOUKYA, a top Ayurvedic healing centre in India of which Camilla has been a patron since 2010

Medal was awarded in recognition of the services she has carried out for the community Working on a volunteer basis, she provides support and care to people experiencing social isolation, an issue which she believes has become more widely acknowledged and recognised in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic

D ee p a k P at h a k, who has been volunteering for over 20 years for organisations including Sewa Day and Durga Bhawan Mandir Smethwick, was one of 45 volunteers from the West Midlands and 500 nationally to have been recognised for their contribution and crowned a Coronation Champion too After seeing how the Asian community were struggling during the pandemic, Madhu set up Sewa Day craft groups to help combat social isolation and lift the community’s spirits Nearly 15,000 knitted items have been made at the groups and donated to hospitals and shelters

M u m ba i D a b ba wa la s , the lunchbox delivery men from Mumbai, India’s financial capital, were also among the invitees and gifted India’s traditional ‘Punedi Pagdi’ turban and ‘Warkari’ shawl to the newly crowned king Manju Malh i, a noted Indian-origin chef, who is a recipient of the British Empire Medal for her community service during the Covid-19 pandemic, also attended the ceremony She works with the charity Open Age which helps elderly citizens to remain fit and active Sales plummet mobilised over 4500 volunteers to support their communities during the pandemic, was among one of around 45 volunteers from the West Midlands and 500 nationally to have been recognised for their contribution and crowned a Coronation Champion When Covid struck, as global lead of the charity, Deepak was instrumental in turning Sewa Day into a vital resource He encouraged over 4,500 volunteers to get involved (many who had not volunteered before) and the charity became active every single day, in 42 different towns and cities across the UK Under Deepak’s leadership, Sewa Day volunteers provided over two million meals to people in need, helped supply food

Among the many Indian and Indian-origin celebrities, politicians and public figures were Indian Vice President, J a gd e ep D hankar who represented India at the coronation ceremony He reached the UK along with his wife on Friday and was seen greeting King Charles III and other dignitaries at a reception at Buckingham Palace on the eve of the coronation Sonam Kapoor was one of the high-profile Indian celebrities present at the ceremony She also delivered a speech and introduced British rhythm and blues artiste Steve Winwood and the Commonwealth virtual choir at the event, the Economic Times reported

P ri m e M i n i s te r R i s h i Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty were also present at the coronation ceremony as a custom He also read from the Biblical ‘Book of Colossians’ Sunak’s Indianborn wife Akshata Murty was also among the guests The businesswoman led the procession with the premier, carrying the UK’s national flag

S our a b Ph ad k e , a renowned architect is a

The streets of central London including Regent Street, The Mall upto Buckingham Palace were covered with hanging flags bearing Union Jack and some with the official coronation emblem Shops and theatres were covered with buntings and other decorations In the Mayfair area of London, street parties were held on the streets and footpaths covered in red, white and blue floral displays, including in the shape of a crown High street retailers reported a “ coronation effect” sales boost as shoppers make a lastminute dash to the shops to stock up on party fare including bunting, champagne and cakes for this weekend’s celebrations

With potentially more than £200m of extra sales riding on the festivities surrounding the coronation of King Charles, retailers’ shelves were cleared of fizz, quiche, and scones as well as buffet favourites such as pies and scotch eggs Inspired by the official “ coronation quiche”, Lidl said its budget-friendly deluxe version of the dish –at £2 79 each – is popular with party planners, with sales up a third in the past month