Charles Mountbatten-Windsor waited more than 70 years to do the job he was born to do. When his late mother Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, the former Prince of Wales automatically became Britain’s next sovereign. But the process of his coronation, and the national period of mourning that will precede it, has only just begun.
Britain has officially entered a period of national mourning, which will last until the date of the Queen’s state funeral in around 10 days. In the meantime, several festive events will take place, including Saturday’s formal accession of King Charles III. at St. James’s Palace, where he will be formally proclaimed the new monarch.
While Charles will already undertake his royal duties as a monarch, including a speech to the nation, his symbolic accession to the throne, the coronation, will have to wait. This is partly a question of logistics. Although much of what would happen after a monarch’s death was carefully planned, the coronation of King Charles III. will require even more detailed planning.
