Carlos III is crowned in ancient rite in Westminster Abbey

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III was crowned on Saturday at Westminster Abbey, in a coronation ceremony steeped in ancient rituals and brimming with glitz as the monarchy struggles to stay relevant in a fractured modern Britain.

In displays of royal power straight out of the Middle Ages, Charles was presented with an orb, sword and scepter and had the jeweled, solid gold Crown of St Edward placed upon his head as he sat on the oak Coronation of 700 years old. Chair.

In front of world leaders, foreign royals, British aristocrats and stars, Charles declared: “I do not come to be served, but to serve.” Inside the medieval abbey, trumpets sounded and the congregation of more than 2,000 chanted “God save the king!” Outside, thousands of troops, hundreds of thousands of spectators and a few protesters converged.

It was the culmination of a seven decade journey for the king from heir to monarch.

For the royal family and the government, the occasion, codenamed Operation Golden Orb, was a display of heritage, tradition and spectacle unmatched throughout the world.

For the crowds gathered under a rainy sky, thousands of whom had camped overnight, it was a chance to be part of a historic occasion.

But for millions more, the day was greeted with a shrug, the awe and reverence the ceremony was designed to evoke largely gone.

And for a few, it was cause for protest. Hundreds of people who want Britain to become a republic gathered to chant ” not my king.” They see the monarchy as an institution that represents privilege and inequality, in a country of increasing poverty and fraying social ties. A handful were arrested.

As the day began, the abbey was abuzz with excitement and filled with scented flowers and colorful hats. Among the dignitaries and notables in attendance were US First Lady Jill Biden, First Lady Olena Zelenska of Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron, eight current and former British Prime Ministers, judges wearing wigs, soldiers with glittering medals and celebrities like Judi Dench, Emma Thompson and Lionel Richie.

During the traditional Anglican service slightly modified for modern times, Charles, dressed in robes of crimson and cream velvet and trimmed with ermine, swore on a Bible that he is a “true Protestant”.

But a preface was added to the coronation oath to say that the Anglican church “shall seek to foster an environment where people of all faiths and beliefs can live freely.” It was him first ceremony that includes representatives of the Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh religions, as well as the first in which the female clergy participated.

Charles was anointed with oil from the Mount of Olives in the Holy Land, a part of the ceremony so sacred it was hidden behind screens, before being presented with the Orb of the Sovereign and other regalia.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, then placed the crown on Charles’s head, as he sat in the once-gilt, now weathered and graffiti-etched coronation chair. Beneath the seat was a sacred slab known as the Stone of Scone, on which ancient Scottish kings were crowned.

Carlos’s wife, Queen Camila, was also crowned.

For 1,000 years and more, British monarchs have been crowned in such grand ceremonies that confirm their right to rule. Carlos was the fortieth sovereign to be enthroned in the abbey and, at 74, the oldest.

These days, the king no longer has executive or political power, and the service is purely ceremonial as Charles automatically became king upon death of his motherQueen Elizabeth II, in September.

The King remains the UK’s head of state and a symbol of national identity, and Charles will have to work to assemble a multicultural nation and shore up support for the monarchy at a time of decline, especially among the youngest.

While most Britons view the monarchy on a spectrum from apathy to mild interest, some are fervently opposed to it. The anti-monarchy group the Republic said several of its members, including its chief executive, were arrested as they arrived for a protest in central London.

Police had warned that they would have a “low tolerance” for people seeking to disrupt the day, prompting criticism that they were clamping down on free speech. Human Rights Watch said the arrests were “something you would expect to see in Moscow, not London.”

The multi-million dollar cost of all the pageantry, the exact figure unknown, also irritated some among a cost of living crisis that has meant that many Britons are struggling to pay energy bills and buy food.

Charles has sought to lead a smaller and less expensive royal machine for the 21st century, and his was a shorter and smaller affair than his mother’s coronation.

The notoriously feuding royal family put on its own show of unity. Prince William, who is next in line to be king, his wife Kate and his three children attended. Towards the end of the ceremony, William knelt before his father and pledged allegiance to the king, before kissing him on the cheek.

Archbishop Welby then invited everyone in the abbey to swear “true allegiance” to the monarch. He said people watching on television could also pay tribute, although that part of the ceremony was toned down after some criticized it as a tone-deaf effort to demand a public oath of allegiance for Charles.

William’s younger brother, Prince Harry, who has publicly discussed with family, he came alone. His wife Meghan and his children stayed at home in California, where the couple have lived since she stopped working as a royal in 2020.

As Charles and the leading royals joined a magnificent military procession after the ceremony, Harry waited outside the abbey until a car arrived to take him away.

Huge crowds applauded as Charles and Camilla rode in the Gold State Carriage from the abbey to Buckingham Palace, accompanied by a procession of 4,000 soldiers and military bands playing lively tunes.

From the palace balcony, the king and queen waved to a sea of ​​people outside, as the Royal Air Force’s aerobatics team, the Red Arrows, flew overhead, trailing red, white and blue plumes.

Julie Newman, a 77-year-old Canadian visitor who braved the rain and the crowds, said it was worth it.

“From what we could hear, it was amazing, but we’re ready to go home and watch it all on TV,” he said.

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Associated Press writers Sylvia Hui and Brian Melley contributed to this report.

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Follow AP coverage of King Carlos III at https://apnews.com/hub/king-charles-iii