Â鶹ӰÊÓ

Skip to main content

King Charles changes key piece of coronation, causing mixed feelings

Share

King Charles has made a controversial change to one tradition surrounding the coronation of a new monarch.

Instead of hereditary peers swearing an oath to him when he's crowned on Saturday, he's asked the public to take that role.

What has traditionally been called "homage of the peers" will now be "homage of the people."

Charles asks anyone watching to say: "I will pay true allegiance to your majesty and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God."

People have mixed emotions about the move, with some calling it tone-deaf and others welcoming the opportunity to be included.

"I think the changes are laughable, to be honest," Tristan Gray, convenor of Scottish political party Our Republic, told Â鶹ӰÊÓ. "The best he can think of doing in terms of involving the public is to ask them to pledge their loyalty to him, despite him having done absolutely nothing to earn it."

But others, including one who spoke to CTV National News in London, called it "a momentous occasion, and I think we should show our respect."

Another told Â鶹ӰÊÓ' Joy Malbon he would watch the ceremony in his home and likely say the pledge out loud.

The controversy surrounding the pledge comes from both a historical and new age awareness, royal historian and commentator Carolyn Harris told CTV's Your Morning on Wednesday.

"I think there's a blend of tradition and modernity here," she said.

Harris pointed to the traditions of Scottish coronations, including a pledge of allegiance for the people, and to the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, where she "strongly" focused on bringing the British aristocracy together.

"Whereas we're seeing a much more inclusive approach in the reign of Charles III in 2023," Harris said.

But if the King's intention was indeed to make the ceremony more inclusive, Harris believes the idea was not communicated properly.

"I think one of the challenges is that when we have a homage to the Monarch, in this fashion, that often the public will view this in a very personal way, that the goal is to personally swear allegiance to King Charles," she said, rather than as an attempt to include the public in what has historically been limited to the aristocracy.

To better reflect that goal, Harris believes the oath should be used to focus on the Monarchy as the "personification" of the nation, allowing for an opportunity to discuss further how constitutional monarchy works.

"We need to think bigger than just the Monarch himself to what he symbolizes," she said.

 

To hear the full interview click the video at the top of this article. 

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.

A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.