On May 6th, 2023, Prince Charles was crowned King Charles after a long 73-year wait to sit on the throne.

Charles truly became King on September 8th, 2022, after the longest reigning English monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away at the age of 96. Upon her death, Charles was promoted from the Prince of Wales to the King of England, and his wife Camilla was promoted from the Princess of Wales to the Queen Consort of England. Charles became the oldest person to take the throne for the first time, surpassing King William IV. Queen Elizabeth handed down a long list of responsibilities to Charles, which includes opening every new session of Parliament, being the ceremonial head of state, and being a lead diplomat for England.

Although Charles was already king by September, his coronation would not be held until May. A coronation is a ceremony in which the crown is physically placed upon the new monarch’s head, symbolizing the beginning of their rule. The proceedings of the coronation have been largely unchanged throughout its 1000-year history, although there have been some modern additions such as a large concert and air conditioning.

The festivities began at 11:00 a.m. when Charles and Camilla arrived via carriage at Westminster Abbey. As Charles arrived, he delivered his opening remarks, his most memorable line being, “I come not to be served but to serve.” Then, the Archbishop of Canterbury will begin the coronation as everybody in attendance will yell, “God save the King!” Then, Charles will agree to an oath that says that he has to uphold the laws of England and the Church. After this, the most sacred part of the ceremony will occur with the anointing: the Archbishop will dip two fingers in holy oil and rub Charles with it. Charles will then sit in the ceremonial coronation chair where he will be crowned, and upon this, he will return to Buckingham Palace as King.

The festivities would not end there, as a coronation concert was held the next day with some of music’s biggest superstars. Singers such as Lionel Richie and Katy Perry performed. This was a dream come true for Perry, as she said, “You know, the memes are meme-ing, and I love it… When you look one way for 15 seconds, it’s just all of a sudden, the Internet takes over.”

The coronation was not just an eventful day for Charles, as his other family members were also promoted. King Charles’ second wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, was crowned queen consort while wearing a dress from British designer Bruce Oldfield. Prince William and his wife Princess Kate were also promoted to Prince and Princess of Wales, respectively, which means that they are now second in line to the throne, and upon Charles’ death, William would become King and Kate would become Queen Consort.

The coronation was a historic event that was watched by 20 million worldwide, and it will be remembered as the day the longstanding prince was finally crowned.