'There are always mishaps': Historian Joanne Paul on British coronations

5 May 2023 at 6:04 am

The coronation of Britain's King Charles III will be the first in the lifetime of anyone below the age of 70. For more on the ritual and its evolution, historian and author Joanne Paul joined us for Perspective. She explained that the ceremony goes all the way back to the 7th century, with the first anointing of a British monarch. While that "unction" continues, not without controversy, the ceremony has always adapted to be a reflection of the times. One regular feature: royal mishaps, from the procession of Henry VIII getting stopped by pouring rain to Queen Victoria's "absolute shambles" of a ceremony.