Britain is making its final preparations for a ceremony and celebration that have been decades in the planning: the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday.

A ritual both ancient and made-for-television, the coronation service and its surrounding events will summon the world’s gaze on behalf of a royal family. Britain’s hospitality industry is also counting on an enormous party. The holiday weekend, with street celebrations and a gala concert, will last three days.

Here are some highlights:

The coronation service begins at 11 a.m. (6 a.m. Eastern time) on Saturday in Westminster Abbey in London. The festivities will continue through the weekend and into Monday, which is a public holiday in Britain.

Approximately 2,300 people have been invited to attend the coronation ceremony. Among those to receive the invitation — a hand-painted card by a heraldic artist, reproduced and printed on recycled paper with gold-foil details — are Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain, Jill Biden, European aristocrats, Nobel Prize winners, the actress Joanna Lumley, and famed musicians like Lionel Richie and Nick Cave, but also a magician, a hairstylist and a Syrian refugee.

After years of family tensions, Prince Harry will attend his father’s coronation — alone. Harry’s wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is staying at home in California with the couple’s children, Prince Archie, who turns 4 on Saturday, and Princess Lilibet, 1.

The Coronation Chair used for the coronation of the monarch, was commissioned by King Edward I of England to accommodate the Stone of Scone, which was captured from the Scots in 1296. The chair was constructed in the early 1300s, and the stone sits directly under its seat. The chair is the oldest piece of furniture in Europe still being used for its original purpose, and that 26 monarchs have been crowned on it since the coronation of Edward II in 1308. The Coronation Chair, which has been used for hundreds of years, underwent a restoration before Saturday’s ceremony.

Usually the monarch has a new glove and sword belt made for the coronation, but King Charles III is departing from tradition and reusing the ones worn by his grandfather, King George VI, 86 years ago.

The other objects in the ceremony, including an orb and a scepter that will be held by King Charles, symbolize power and authority in a monarchy. Charles will be crowned with the St. Edward’s Crown, which was removed from the Tower of London last year to allow for modifications to it.

The coronation of King Charles III will feature a processional cross containing what are said to be two pieces of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Pope Francis recently gave the pieces to the new British monarch. The Vatican did not say where the fragments given to King Charles had come from. The pieces were set, under glass, at the center of a cross that was commissioned by Charles, as Prince of Wales, to celebrate the centenary of the Church in Wales, which split off from the Church of England in 1920. An inscription, in Welsh, on the back of the cross reads: “Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things,” from the last sermon of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales.

Across central London, homages to the royal family are appearing on many street corners, from photographs in cafes to giant chalk paintings of King Charles III.

Thousands of additional police officers and security workers will be on the streets of London. It will be one of the largest security operations that the Met has held for quite some time. It was said that the police had learned from Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations honoring her seven decades on the throne last June and her funeral in September, both of which drew hundreds of thousands of people into the city streets.

Ringing the bells for the newly crowned monarch is a centuries-old tradition in Britain. Among those who are going to ring the bells is Andrea Szabolcsi, 42, who works in information technology and moved to London from Hungary seven years ago.

source: The New York Times

source: Changes to British Royal Titles Since the Death of Queen Elizabeth II, UsefulCharts, YouTube

It was personally chosen by the King, from a range of designs produced by the College of Arms.

The monogram combines his initial “C” and “R” for Rex, the Latin for king, plus III for the third King Charles.

The cypher, a visual identity for the new reign, replaces the E II R of Queen Elizabeth II.

There will be other changes ahead to mark the new reign of King Charles:

The Bank of England says new bank notes featuring a portrait of King Charles III are “expected to enter circulation by mid-2024″, with the image to be revealed before the end of this year.

New coins will be produced, says the Royal Mint, and will appear “in line with demand from banks and post offices”.

BBC News was given a first glimpse of the 50p and a commemorative £5 Crown which include an image of the King by British sculptor Martin Jennings.

The coins follow centuries of tradition with the monarch now facing left – the opposite way to his predecessor.

As with previous British kings, and unlike the Queen, he wears no crown.

King Charles personally approved the effigy, and was understood to be pleased with the likeness.

The coins will be sold to collectors by The Royal Mint from the first week of October. The 50p coin will be available for general use well before the end of the year, distributed according to demand by banks, building societies and post offices.

Existing banknotes and coins will continue to be valid, with Charles and Elizabeth notes and coins being used alongside each other. The Royal Mint says there are approximately 27 billion coins from Queen Elizabeth II’s reign in circulation

The Royal Mail says that new stamps featuring King Charles will “enter circulation once current stocks of stamps are exhausted“

But a set of four memorial stamps are to be released in November, showing portraits of Queen Elizabeth II taken at different stages during her reign.

As the period of royal mourning ended, the new cypher of King Charles was used for the first time.

This personal monogram of the new monarch had its first application in the Buckingham Palace post room, when it was used to frank letters from the Royal Households.

It’s an image that will begin to be used more widely, from uniforms to official stationery to public buildings.

There is a separate version of the cypher for Scotland, which features the Scottish Crown.

But there won’t be a sudden change on post boxes.

There are still boxes in use from the reign of Queen Victoria, Edward VII, George V and VI, and the original cyphers remain until boxes need to be replaced.

Almost 70,000 of the current post boxes, about 60% of the total, date from the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. There are only about 170 surviving from the short reign of Edward VIII, who abdicated in 1936.

Boxes already under construction or ready for installation will continue to have the late Queen’s cypher, Royal Mail says.

Where royal cyphers appear on buildings, it will be up to individual organisations to decide when or if they will be updated.

sources (article; video): BBC News; King Charles III Unveils New Cypher as Mourning Period Ends, The Royal Family Channel

A következő mondatok hiányzó részeit egészítsétek ki a megadott opciókból. Vigyázat, két opció egyik mondatban sem használható.

1.The E II R of Queen Elizabeth II is replaced by the cypher, ____.

2.The monarch is now facing left, the opposite direction from his predecessor, ____.

3.In contrast to the Queen, he does not wear a crown, ____.

4.Banknotes and coins currently in circulation will continue to be valid and Charles and Elizabeth notes and coins ____.

5.From uniforms to business stationery to buildings, _____ .

A.as did earlier British kings

B.remain until boxes need to be replaced

C.which serves as a visual identity for the new reign

D.had its first application in the Buckingham Palace post room

E.as has been the custom for generations

F.his image will start to appear more frequently

G.may be used interchangeably

keys/megoldások: 1.C; 2.E; 3.A.; 4.G; 5.F; nem használható opciók: B; D