Hail new King Charles III of England

IT WAS indeed a historic and momentous event when the heir to the British throne former Prince Charles of Wales now King Charles III was formally crowned in a solemn but colourful ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, 6th May, 2023, which attracted important dignities and about 90 Heads of State from across the globe including President Joe Biden of the U.S, who was represented by his wife, President Emmanuel Macron of France and his wife, the Chinese Vice President, President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, among others. The colourful event equally attracted kings and queens as well as prominent paramount traditional rulers from across the world.

  The epoch making event has finally closed the chapter of nearly a century of the memorable reign of the  late British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who died on 8th September, 2022, thereby paving the way for the formal coronation of the 74 years old King Charles III as the worthy successor to the late iconic and legendary Queen Elizabeth II.

  The formal coronation of King Charles III was preceded by a religious service at the Chapel of Westminster Abbey, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, assisted by the Bishop of London, Rt. Rev. Dame Serah Mullally, before a record crowd of over 2000 in the congregation. Members of the British royal family, including the heir to the throne, Prince William and his wife, Princess Kate, and Prince Harry, who had travelled all the way from his base in the U.S equally attended the ceremony but without his wife, Megan. Members of the Commonwealth of Nations were also in full attendance, as well as the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak and the former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who also graced the momentous occasion.

  King Charles III and Queen Camilla were conveyed in a golden royal coach led by mounted horse escort in a procession to Westminster Abbey amid thunderous cheers by the highly excited Britons, who had lined the entire route to the venue of the ceremony to witness the historic and once in a life time event.

  The high point of the coronation ceremony was the administration of oath on King Charles III and placing of the crown on his head, as well as Queen Camilla by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.  In a solemn and emotional speech, King Charles III promised to abide by his oath of office and pledged to discharge his royal functions with utmost fairness, justice and commitment to the British people and humanity at large, assuring that he had come to serve and not to be served.  About 4000 members of the Royal Armed Services took part in the colourful parade including  21 gun salute that was fired to herald the new King Charles III. The royal Air Force planes equally flew past the Westminster Abbey in beautiful colours as the coronation ceremony was in top gear to the great excitement and admiration of the mammoth crowd.It is pertinent to also mention in this piece that King Charles III always calm and composed was truly radiating in absolute dignity and splendour as he assumed his new role as the British sovereign. 

  Earlier on Wednesday, 3rd May 2023, and all through to the eve of the coronation on 6th May, 2023, rehearsals were held on the grounds of Westminster Abbey by all formations of the British Royal Armed Forces including the various military bands preparatory to the crowning of King Charles III. The successful coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla, which was watched by millions of people across the globe had been acknowledged as a spectacular achievement by the British people.

  However, there was an interesting drama which apparently was intended to embarrass King Charles III and the royal family and possibly overshadow the historic event when a group of anti-monarchy protesters were arrested by the police along the royal route to Westminster Abbey. The protesters, armed with placards and shouting on top of their voices “Not my King” “Not my King” had seemingly sent a clear signal to the British public on the future of the monarchy in the United Kingdom. Several human right groups across the globe had since condemned in strongest terms the unfortunate arrest of the protesters, who were only exercising their inalienable right of freedom of speech and assembly in the United Kingdom that prides herself as the bastion of liberal democracy.  

  It is instructive to recall that in recent times, there has been intense debate across the United Kingdom on the desirability or otherwise of retaining the “archaic” British Monarchy in the United Kingdom.  Divergent opinions had argued that the British Monarchy had long out lived its usefulness and as such should be abolished. They had maintained that the humongous resources usually expended on the royal family could better be channeled to other critical areas that would serve the general interest of the British public. The anti-monarchy elements had cited the colossal sum of about