The British new monarch, King Charles III has been administered the coronation oath as part of a service at Westminster Abbey.
Before the Oath Archbishop of Canterbury acknowledged the multiple faiths observed in the UK by saying the Church of England “would seek to foster an environment in which people of all faiths may live freely”.
Welby then administers the Coronation Oath, seen as a legal requirement for the King’s ascension to office.
He asked King Charles to confirm that he would uphold the law and the Church of England during his reign.
The King placed his hand on the Holy Gospel and pledged to “perform and keep” those promises.
He also vowed to uphold the law during his reign, saying he will “foster an environment in which people of all faiths may live freely.”
The King also took a second oath – the Accession Declaration Oath – stating that he is a “faithful Protestant.”
Wearing his grandfather’s crimson velvet robe, King Charles was anointed with holy oil, before the St Edward’s Crown was placed on his head.
The Archbishop poured special oil from the Ampulla – a gold flask – on to the Coronation Spoon before anointing the King in the form of a cross on his head, breast and hands.
The Ampulla was made for Charles II’s coronation, but its shape harks back to an earlier version and a legend that the Virgin Mary appeared to St Thomas a Becket in the 12th Century and gave him a golden eagle from which future kings of England would be anointed.
