Charles III was crowned monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 Commonwealth realms on Saturday at Britain's first coronation for 70 years, during a ceremony steeped in a millennium of ritual and spectacle. Follow our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

After a lifetime as heir to his late mother Queen Elizabeth II, Charles, 74, became the oldest sovereign yet to be crowned at London’s Westminster Abbey.

At 12:02pm (11:02 GMT), Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby placed the solid-gold St Edward’s Crown on Charles’s head as a sacred and ancient symbol of the monarch’s authority.

Welby also crowned Charles’s wife, Queen Camilla, 75.

>> Watch more : King Charles III's coronation ceremony at London's Westminster Abbey

Cries of “God Save the King” rang out from the 2,300-member congregation, which included foreign royalty and political leaders.

Returning to Buckingham Palace in the day’s second horse-drawn parade, the royal family appeared on the balcony to applause and more chants of approbation from tens of thousands of well-wishers braving a spring downpour.

Read more on FRANCE 24 English

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