The coronation ceremony in the United Kingdom of Charles III and his wife Camilla as King and Queen takes place Saturday, May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London.
Coronations at Westminster are rare spectacles – there have only been 39 in the past one thousand years! Please enjoy the attached gallery of some of those coronations.
The Coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth II acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive councils shortly afterwards. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
Coach used for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 1953. The Gold State Coach is an enclosed, eight horse-drawn carriage used by the British Royal Family. Commissioned in 1760, it was built in the London workshops of Samuel Butler. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
Queen Elizabeth II, on her Coronation Day, Westminster Abbey, London, England, UK, June 2, 1952. Photo by: JT Vintage/Glasshouse Images 
Photograph of the Queen’s Procession, with the Glass Coach and Captain’s Escort when leaving Buckingham Palace for the Coronation. Dated 20th Century. Photo by: Photo12/UIG 
The coronation of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey, London. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
In London, the Queen’s carriage, drawn by eight horses, symbolizes the splendour of the coronation. Photo by: Photo12/UIG 
Queen Elizabeth II during her coronation. 1953. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
The coronation of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey, London. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
Queen Elizabeth II, of England, with her consort, Prince Phillip after the Coronation in 1953. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
Coach used for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 1953. The Gold State Coach is an enclosed, eight horse-drawn carriage used by the British Royal Family. Commissioned in 1760, it was built in the London workshops of Samuel Butler. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
London, England: May 12, 1937. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on coronation day on the Buckingham Palace balcony. Right of the Queen is Lady Ursula Manners, one of her six trainbearers, and to the left of the King is Earl Kitchener, one of the nine pages who bore the King’s train at the coronation. Photo by: Underwood Archives/UIG 
The coronation coach of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth passing through Admiralty Arch, London, England on the day of their coronation in 1936. George VI, 1895 – 1952. King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, 1900 –2002. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
The scene outside Waterloo Station, London, England as the South African Coronation contingent arrive to celebrate the coronation of King George VI on 12th May 1937. From The Sphere, Coronation Record Number published 1937. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
The Royal carriage returning from Westminster Abbey on Coronation day of King Edward VII (1841-1910), London, England, August 9, 1902, photo by Valerian Gribayedoff (1858-1908), from L’illustrazione Italiana, Year XXIX, No 33, August 17, 1902. Photo by: De Agostini Picture Library/UIG 
King George V and Queen mary of England after their coronation in 1911. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
Coronation of Harold King of the Anglo-Saxons. A.D. 1066. Harold II King of England c. 1020-1066. Engraved by W. Ridgeway after D. Maclise. From the book ‘Illustrations of English and Scottish History’ Volume 1. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
The Coronation of Henry IV of England. From 15th century manuscript of Jean Froissart’s Chronicles. Henry IV ( 1366 – 1413) King of England and Lord of Ireland (1399-1413). Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
James II of England VII of Scotland (1633-1701). Reigned 1685-1688. Coronation of James II and his queen Mary (of Modena), 1685. Scene in the Banqueting Hall, Whitehall, London, celebrating the coronation. Engraving. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
Victoria (1819-1901) queen of England from 1837 and Empress of India from 1876. Coronation in Westminster Abbey, 28 June 1837. Archbishop of Canterbury placing crown on queen’s head. Oleograph. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
The coronation of Queen Victoria of Great Britain took place on 28 June 1838. Photo: Universal History Archive/UIG 
The coronation of King George IV of England in 1820; engraved by J. Chapman from a painting by J. Fussell. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
Coloured etching by William Heath after his original drawing, showing the coronation procession on its way to Westminster Abbey in London with Charles Green’s (1785-1870) balloon in the distance. George IV (1762-1830) was crowned King of England on 21 July 1821. The coronation was a lavish affair and the king’s clothes alone cost . Photo by: SSPL/Universal Images Group 
Coronation procession of King William IV and Queen Adelaide at Westminster Abbey. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
The coronation of Henry IV, Westminster Abbey, London, England in 1399. After the Froissart MS in the British Museum. Henry IV, 1367-1413. King of England and Lord of Ireland. From Cassell’s History of England, published c.1901. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
The coronation of Queen Victoria, 28 June 1838. Victoria, 1819 – 1901. Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. From The Century Edition of Cassell’s History of England, published c. 1900. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
The procession of Queen Alexandra (1844-1925) in Westminster Abbey on her husband’s Coronation day, London, England, August 9, 1902 drawing by Riccardo Salvadori (1866-1927) after a sketch by Gennaro Amato (1857-1947), from L’illustrazione Italiana, Year XXIX, No 33, August 17, 1902. Photo by: De Agostini Picture Library/UIG 
The Canadian Arch erected in Whitehall for the coronation of Edward VII (1841-1910), London, England, drawing by Fortunino Matania (1881-1963), from L’illustrazione Italiana, Year XXIX, No 34, August 24, 1902. Photo by: De Agostini Picture Library/UIG 
Coronation of King William I (c. 1028 – 1087), known as William the Conqueror and William the Bastard, he was the first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG 
Edward VI entering London, Illustration from the Book, ‘John Cassel’s Illustrated History of England, Volume II’, text by William Howitt, Cassell, Petter, and Galpin, London, 1858. Photo by: JTV/GHI/Universal History Archive/UIG 
Exclamation of the coronation of the Prince and Princess of Orange, 1689, Jan Luyken, 1689-1691. Photo by: Sepia Times/UIG 
Coronation of William III, 1689 the Crowning of her Majesteyten, William the III. and Mary the II. to King and Queen, from Great Britain: to West Minster in the Abdy Church den 11/21 1689, The Coronation of William III and Maria II Stuart as King and Queen of England, April 21, 1689. Coronation ceremony in a full Westminster Abbey. Marked upper right: third part. fol. 123, during the coronation, Westminster Abbey, Willem III (Prince of Orange and King of England, Scotland and Ireland), Maria II Stuart (Queen of England, Jan Luyken, Amsterdam, 1689, paper, etching, h 175 mm × w 283 mm. Photo by: Sepia Times/UIG 
Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen regnant of England and Queen regnant of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Elizabeth I’s foreign policy with regard to Asia, Africa and Latin America demonstrated a new understanding of the role of England as a maritime, Protestant power in an increasingly global economy. Her reign saw major innovations in exploration, colonization and the use of England’s growing maritime power. Photo by: Pictures From History/UIG 
Queen Elizabeth acknowledged by the Bishops, Illustration from the Book, ‘John Cassel’s Illustrated History of England, Volume II’, text by William Howitt, Cassell, Petter, and Galpin, London, 1858. Photo by: JTV/GHI/Universal History Archive/UIG
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