King Charles III’s coronation and concert: what music could feature over the Royal weekend?
23 January 2023, 11:09 | Updated: 23 January 2023, 12:00
The coronation of His Majesty the King will take place on Saturday 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey. This will be followed with an orchestral concert celebration, due to take place on Sunday 7 May 2023. Here’s all we know so far.
His Majesty King Charles III will be crowned at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6 May 2023, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
The coronation ceremony will be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and will also see Camilla, Queen Consort crowned.
A spokesperson for the Palace said the Coronation will “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in long standing traditions and pageantry”.
The following day on Sunday 7 May 2023, a star-studded Coronation Concert will take place at Windsor Castle, featuring a world-class orchestra and specially created choir.
Here’s all we know so far about King Charles III’s coronation weekend, including what music could be featured in the ceremony.
Read more: King Charles III is a former cellist who once conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra
What is a coronation, and what happens at the ceremony?
At a coronation ceremony, the crown is placed on the new monarch’s head for the first time. The ceremony is a solemn, religious service but also an occasion for celebration and pageantry, where other items of regalia are presented.
Coronation ceremonies in the British monarchy have retained a similar structure over the past millennium. They have taken place at Westminster Abbey for the last 900 years, and since 1066 have almost always been conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
This year’s coronation for Charles III is expected to include the same core elements with some changes to reflect our current times.
A monarch’s coronation traditionally takes place some months after their accession to the throne, following a period of mourning. Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation took place on 2 June 1953, over a year after her accession on 6 February 1952.
During the ceremony, Charles III will be “anointed, blessed and consecrated” by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Read more: Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral: All the music played during the service
What music could feature at King Charles III’s coronation?
Charles III’s coronation ceremony can be expected to heavily feature music by British composers. Queen Elizabeth II’s ceremony featured Walton’s Crown Imperial, ‘Jupiter’ from Holst’s The Planets, Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance Marches, Parry’s ‘I Was Glad’ and Vaughan Williams’ arrangement of ‘Greensleeves’, among many other pieces.
Queen Elizabeth’s ceremony also featured music specially written for her coronation, including Walton’s ‘Te Deum’ and Harris’ ‘Let my prayer come up’. Similarly, the late Queen’s funeral service featured two new works – by Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan, and Master of the King’s Music, Judith Weir.
King Charles III is known for his love of classical music, particularly having played cello as a young man. Weir told Classic FM that “it will be marvellous for all of us musicians to have somebody like that as our head”.
In an exclusive radio programme for Classic FM, the then-Prince of Wales chose some of his best-loved classical music performed by his patronages, including Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, choruses from Bach’s St Matthew Passion and the ‘Bridal March of the Birds’ from Parry’s The Birds of Aristophanes.
In a second programme, he chose to showcase Chopin’s piano concertos, the Four Last Songs of Strauss, and Julius Benedict’s Piano Concerto in E flat.
👑 Communities across the UK will be encouraged to come together to celebrate the Coronation with events including Big Lunches, volunteering days and a concert in the grounds of Windsor Castle which will be open to a public ballot.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) January 21, 2023
What other classical music events are happening during Coronation weekend?
The day after the coronation, on Sunday 7 May, a concert will be held on Windsor Castle’s East Lawn featuring a 74-piece orchestra made up of the Massed Bands of the Household Division and the Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra.
According to a statement released by the Royal Household, the Coronation Concert, “will see a world-class orchestra play interpretations of musical favourites fronted by some of the world’s biggest entertainers, alongside performers from the world of dance.
“The performances will be supported by staging and effects located on the Castle’s East Lawn and will also feature a selection of spoken word sequences delivered by stars of stage and screen.”
Alongside the orchestral musicians, the concert will feature a specially created, Coronation Choir, made up of a diverse group of local community choirs and amateur singers from across the United Kingdom.
The Royal Household’s statement details that these will include singers from, “Refugee choirs, NHS choirs, LGBTQ+ singing groups and deaf signing choirs.”
The Coronation Choir will also be joined by a virtual choir, made up of singers from across the commonwealth, for a performance on the night.