Mayday is a much loved British tradition. It’s a spring holiday and the time for another lovely tradition, picking wild garlic leaves in woodland when the bluebells are in bloom. Half an hour with a pair of scissors or a sharp knife and you can gather enough garlic to freeze or bottle and use in cooking for a year. But British people have another tradition on their minds this month. It’s a tradition so unusual that few citizens can remember the last time it happened.
King Charles III will be the first British monarch to be crowned in the past seven decades. There is coronation bunting in some areas and posters in shop windows ahead of the ceremony this weekend. The expectation is of a carefully choreographed made-for-television festival. The coronation will involve a revival of historic traditions including the use of the Stone of Scone (sometimes called the Stone of Destiny). It’s a slab of ancient sandstone brought to London from Scotland and used for centuries in the coronation of Scottish kings. It will now be used for Charles in a ceremony in which the Archbishop of Canterbury will anoint the King with oil and will also – we are told – invite the congregation and the global television audience to “pay true allegiance to Your Majesty and to your heirs and successors according to the law, so help me God.”
Opinion polls, however, suggest excitement in the coronation is limited, especially among young people. In a YouGov survey of 3070 adults, only 6 per cent of the young adult age group of 18 to 24 year olds said they were "very interested". Some 24 per cent said they were "quite interested.” But 35 per cent said they were "not very interested" and 29 per cent said they were "not at all interested".
There is criticism too of the cost, put at £100 million, at a time when inflation is high and the cost of living crisis hurts many British people. But what has been less discussed is why a coronation is necessary at all and what impact this version of an ancient ceremony will have on Britain’s image abroad. King Charles is, obviously, already King. He became King with the passing of his much respected mother Queen Elizabeth II. The continuity of the British monarchy has always been a top priority, but a coronation is not constitutionally necessary.
In the 1930s, Edward VIII didn’t even have a coronation. One clue as to why a coronation is thought to be important in the 21st century is that it will be a magnificent and highly rehearsed show, designed to connect with an international 21st century television audience and reinforce how the UK is seen around the world. But that itself may be a mixed blessing.
The British Council surveys opinion in many countries. One survey a few years ago found that "the UK is both loved and loathed for its traditions. The images most often associated with Great Britain in the survey are the Queen and the Royal Family, kilts, castles and rugby. This has implications for public diplomacy."
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Royal enthusiasts at their impromptu campsite on The Mall in London, where they await the May 6 coronation procession of King Charles III. Getty -
Police officers patrol near Westminster Abbey as security is heightened for the coronation. AFP -
A telephone box in the village of Compton, Surrey, decorated with the ears, nose and crown of King Charles. AFP -
A royal fan takes a break after booking his spot on the coronation route in London. AP -
Town crier Tony Appleton takes the train into central London. AFP -
The drum major's state coat, adorned with the new CR III cypher, to be worn during the coronation. AFP -
Decorations are put up outside Number 10 Downing Street in London. AP -
A royal fan gets into the spirit of the coronation on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace. Reuters -
Yeoman of the Guard, the British sovereign's bodyguards, prepare to board a bus in London. Getty -
The UK's military held a full dress rehearsal for the coronation ceremony of King Charles III on Tuesday night. Reuters -
A royal fan sleeps at The Mall outside Buckingham Palace as the countdown to the coronation continues. Reuters -
Big Ben, in central London, is lit up during a rehearsal for the ceremony. PA -
An art installation in London depicts St Edward's Crown. AP -
Madame Tussauds in Sydney, Australia, unveils a waxwork figure of King Charles, alongside figures of Prince William and his wife Kate. Reuters -
Royalists have slept out on The Mall in London for days for the best view of the ceremony. EPA -
A knitted coronation-themed postbox topper in Isleworth, London. AP -
Tailor William Skinner with a ceremonial uniform on Savile Row, London, before the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, on May 6. Reuters -
Caroline de Guitaut, deputy surveyor of the King's Works of Art, adjusts the imperial mantle, a part of the coronation vestments, in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace. AFP -
A banner celebrating the coronation at Kings Cross Station in London. AP -
Upholsterer Beatrice Ekwalla works on restoring a throne chair for the coronation at the Marlborough House workshops in London. AFP -
Royal fan Margaret Tyler poses for a portrait in the living room of her home in north London. EPA -
Parliament Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle with the Speaker's State Coach. PA -
Violinist Adrianna Forbes-Dorant, 17, takes part in a rehearsal with the Brixton Chamber Orchestra for coronation performances in London. AP -
British Army soldiers rehearse at RAF Odiham for a coronation parade. Getty -
Shoppers browse souvenirs for the coronation of King Charles III outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Reuters -
Temporary stands are constructed on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace, central London. PA -
Members of the military pass by Westminster Abbey in central London during a night-time rehearsal for the coronation. AP -
Britain's Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, attends a Coronation Big Lunch at Westminster Abbey. Reuters -
The London Scottish Band in Burlington Arcade, London, at an unveiling of a celebratory installation to mark the coronation. PA -
A crown is placed on top of a flagpole on The Mall in London. Getty Images -
The official 'Crowning of the King' souvenir programme sits on a shop shelf in central London. AFP -
Workers prepare the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the big event. AFP -
Ardent monarchist Anita Atkinson sits among her 13,283 pieces of royal memorabilia at her Weardale farm near Bishop Auckland. AFP -
Members of the Household Cavalry take part in a rehearsal for the coronation at Buckingham Palace. Getty Images -
King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla will travel to the coronation in the modern Diamond Jubilee State Coach and return in the Gold State Coach, pictured. PA -
A potter works on chinaware produced for the coronation at a factory in Stoke-on-Trent. AFP -
The Coronation Chair, also known as St Edward's Chair or King Edward's Chair, at Westminster Abbey in London. AFP -
King Charles is presented with the first struck £5 coronation coin by Royal Mint chief executive Anne Jessopp and director Rebecca Morgan at Windsor Castle. Reuters -
The first struck £5 coronation coin. Reuters -
A member of staff at Fudge Kitchen puts up bunting in Windsor. PA -
A crown made by British milliner Justin Smith, created using 319 Scrabble tiles to mark the board game's 75th anniversary and the coronation. PA -
People browse a souvenir kiosk in London. Reuters -
The new commemorative 50p coin, part of the coronation coin collection. PA
One of those implications is how far Britain is celebrated not for its present competence, future creativity and wealth creation, but for its past. The coronation will remind the world of the great British heritage. But it may also reinforce the idea that, as another British Council survey of US opinion a few years ago put it, Britain is seen as “a historic theme park rather than as a modern forward-thinking partner in innovation and creativity: American views of the UK are driven more by cultural factors than political issues… pointing to a crucial role for culture in future relations between the two countries.
The report reveals that culture and history were the two top rated factors contributing to the UK’s attractiveness among American respondents, with 43 per cent identifying "cultural and historic attractions" as a major draw and 42 per cent identifying "history". The current and past actions of governments were only the 16th most important factor (at 17 per cent) in determining how attractive they found the UK.
Brand Britain will be noticed around the world as a result of the coronation, but it will be less the “Cool Britannia” promoted in the 1990s than a glimpse of ancient and historic Britannia reworked in the 21st century.
The TV spectacular will be a visual demonstration that the monarchy and the House of Windsor are secure. Republicanism in Britain remains a minority interest. The splendid show may bring in tourists to have a look at Britain's castles and its culture. But the coronation may also reinforce the idea of Britain as merely a “historic theme park”. Men and women in strange clothing will do some strange things in the name of unfamiliar traditions. The downside is if the image of the UK seen around the world is less that of its glorious history and more the idea that modern Britain is not just celebrating the past but stuck in it.
