# How will the coronation of Charles III differ from that of Elizabeth II? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 28, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984 "2011-04-28T01:33:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/61 "2011-05-01T03:17:26Z")
How will the coronation be different? Well, Elizabeth was a true hottie with bodacious ta-tas. Charles is an old fart with Dumbo ears. Odds are that when it comes time to crown Charles, there will be a lot of film played of his mother’s coronation, just to keep up the ratings. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/62 "2011-05-01T03:51:51Z")
A 1952 coronation vs. a ~2025 coronation? Fewer people will be smoking. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/63 "2011-05-01T04:11:05Z")
IIRC, Charles will not be crowned until at least a year after Elizabeth passes, because it is traditional for the family/court/nation to be in mourning for the old sovereign at least that long before crowning a new one, which is supposed to be jubilant occasion. But, if he has not yet been crowned, he can still open sessions of Parliament and things, right? (And if he has not yet been crowned, does he wear his crown during the Speech from the Throne, as Elizabeth always does?) ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/64 "2011-05-01T04:30:00Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > IIRC, Charles will not be crowned until at least a year after Elizabeth passes, because it is traditional for the family/court/nation to be in mourning for the old sovereign at least that long before crowning a new one, which is supposed to be jubilant occasion. > > But, if he has not yet been crowned, he can still open sessions of Parliament and things, right? (And if he has not yet been crowned, does he wear his crown during the Speech from the Throne, as Elizabeth always does?) He will certainly open Parliament, as he will legally be King from the moment of his mother’s death. I don’t know if there’s a difference in what would be worn before and after the coronation. One thing to bear in mind is that, if the Queen lives as long as her mother, Charles will be a very old man when he becomes King, and depending on his health there may be less delay. If this is an issue, it could well be the biggest difference between the two coronations. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/65 "2011-05-01T04:51:05Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > But, if he has not yet been crowned, he can still open sessions of Parliament and things, right? (And if he has not yet been crowned, does he wear his crown during the Speech from the Throne, as Elizabeth always does?) Elizabeth II opened parliament in November 1952, seven months before her coronation. There was no photography of it then, but I’m pretty sure she stayed in the George IV diadem. Before the speech, she also made a declaration that she was a protestant and would do everything under her power to maintain protestant succession (if there’s not a chance to do that before the coronation, it’s rolled into the oaths taken then). ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/66 "2011-05-01T06:16:46Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > A 1952 coronation vs. a ~2025 coronation? Fewer people will be smoking. But the coronation was in a church – surely people, even in 1952 (1953, actually), didn’t smoke inside a church? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/67 "2011-05-01T10:29:47Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > A 1952 coronation vs. a ~2025 coronation? Fewer people will be smoking. > [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > But the coronation was in a church – surely people, even in 1952 (1953, actually), didn’t smoke inside a church? Smoke, no, smoking, yes (as in smoking hot Elizabeth II.) ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/68 "2011-05-01T11:09:15Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Don’t you mean William V? William III died in 1702!😛 [He’s got better things to do than go around all day remembering your bloody number.](http://www.ibras.dk/montypython/episode40.htm) ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/69 "2011-05-01T13:54:29Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I thought Charles gave up the right to be King when he took Camilla as his wife? Wasn’t there something about that? And I seem to remember the story of Diana having to submit to an gyn. exam before marrying Charles, proving no man had been there before. I haven’t heard of this for Kate. Perhaps, being a commoner, she’s not held to the same standard, but can she actually be queen? there is a list of requirements for THE prince of wales’ wife to be, virginity is just one of them. those that are not THE pow, just have to have the consent of the monarch. ---
**Author:** ![A.Gwilliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@A.Gwilliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Gwilliam)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/70 "2011-05-01T14:09:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > PM Winston Churchill even said, “A religious ceremony should never be turned into a theatrical performance.” – perhaps the only time in his long public career Churchill ever succeeded in sounding like an idiot. You obviously don’t know much about Churchill! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/71 "2011-05-01T16:15:43Z")
> [@A.Gwilliam](#): > > You obviously don’t know much about Churchill! 😃 Sounding like an idiot and sounding like a drunk are not quite the same thing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/72 "2011-05-01T16:17:26Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > But the coronation was in a church – surely people, even in 1952 (1953, actually), didn’t smoke inside a church? “If you smoked during your own coronation, you might be a royal redneck!” – Jeffrey, 12th Marquess of Foxworthy ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/73 "2011-05-01T16:19:29Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > there is a list of requirements for THE prince of wales’ wife to be, virginity is just one of them. those that are not THE pow, just have to have the consent of the monarch. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/74 "2011-05-01T16:21:50Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Elizabeth II opened parliament in November 1952, seven months before her coronation. There was no photography of it then, but I’m pretty sure she stayed in the George IV diadem. Is that the sort of diamond circlet with no arches, with diamond crosses-patee and fleurs-de-lys projecting up from the rim, kinda like a tiara only it goes all the way around the head? **That** was made for George IV? I’ve seen Elizabeth wearing it in so many pictures that it’s hard to imagine a **man** wearing the thing! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/75 "2011-05-01T16:26:00Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Why would Charles be such a disaster on the throne? Because he’s a meddler and reminds many of Edward VIII. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/76 "2011-05-01T16:27:08Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Because he’s a meddler and reminds many of Edward VIII. . . . What, in having romantic/marital troubles? ---
**Author:** ![bahia\_hombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@bahia\_hombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bahia_hombre)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/77 "2011-05-01T16:54:36Z")
\*1) Will there be any public protest in the UK at spending this kind of money on a lavish public ceremony which every other monarchy in Europe has dropped or simplified, to glorify an anachronistic institution while so many poor people, etc.? (Was there any in 1953?) \*Given the 2 billion global viewers of the wedding, it’s obviously big business in addition to cultural tradition, and it seems that any amount of cost of these ceremonies could be covered (with profit to spare) by marketing the broadcasting/merchandising rights with all of the resulting advertisement revenue, souvenir sales, etc. I’m not sure how that works currently and not saying it’s a good thing (outside of saving taxpayers’ money) but there is clearly a lot of entertainment value in the monarchy and ‘Brand Britain.’ ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/78 "2011-05-01T17:11:57Z")
I think all the money spent on the recent Royal Wedding–& that will be spent on the next Coronation–is spent in the UK. British workers get that money. And the coverage showed quite a few visitors from abroad lining the streets. Spending at hotels, restaurants & pubs. And buying those tacky souvenirs! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/79 "2011-05-01T17:17:03Z")
> [@bahia\_hombre](#): > > \*1) Will there be any public protest in the UK at spending this kind of money on a lavish public ceremony which every other monarchy in Europe has dropped or simplified, to glorify an anachronistic institution while so many poor people, etc.? (Was there any in 1953?) > > \*Given the 2 billion global viewers of the wedding, it’s obviously big business in addition to cultural tradition, and it seems that any amount of cost of these ceremonies could be covered (with profit to spare) by marketing the broadcasting/merchandising rights with all of the resulting advertisement revenue, souvenir sales, etc. I’m not sure how that works currently and not saying it’s a good thing (outside of saving taxpayers’ money) but there is clearly a lot of entertainment value in the monarchy and ‘Brand Britain.’ King George V: In the past all a King had to do was look respectable in uniform and not fall off his horse. Now we must invade people’s homes and ingratiate ourselves with them. This family is reduced to those lowest, basest of all creatures, we’ve become actors! – _The King’s Speech_ And **now,** based on what you’re saying, they have become . . . advertising characters! Spud McKenzie, Tony the Tiger, Elizabeth the Second! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984/80 "2011-05-01T17:27:00Z")
> [@notquitekarpov](#): > > In order, and only my two pennyworth: > > 1. Yes but on the fringes of political debate. Everybody knows having a President would be much more expensive than a Royal Family, so it would be a political stance in disguise and widely recognised as such. 😕 The POTUS gets the WH and Camp David. The Queen gets half a dozen palaces and **added** to that is the expense of the PM’s establishment at No. 10. How would merging them, as it were, add to the total expense? Presumably the President of Britain would use No. 10 and St. James’ Palace, and the remaining palaces would be turned into museums or hotels or something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronation-of-charles-iii-differ-from-that-of-elizabeth-ii/579984.md?page=5)