Britain's King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward (L-R, front), Prince William (1st L, back) and Prince Harry (2nd L, back), walk behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II during a procession from Buckingham Palace to the Westminster Hall for the Queen's lying-in-state in London, Britain, Sept. 14, 2022.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
Britain's King Charles III will be crowned at London's Westminster Abbey in May 2023 in a ceremony set to follow the traditional pageantry used for anointing monarchs over the last 1,000 years, Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday.

Charles, 73, automatically became king on the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II in September, but the grand coronation ceremony will now take place on May 6.

"The coronation will reflect the monarch's role today and look toward the future, while being rooted in long-standing traditions and pageantry," the palace said in a statement.

The ceremony, a solemn and religious event which will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, usually comes several months after the accession of the new monarch.

Kings and queens of England, and later Britain and the United Kingdom, have been crowned at Westminster Abbey since William the Conqueror in 1066. Charles is the 41st monarch in a line that traces its origins back to William, and he will be the oldest monarch to be crowned.

His mother, who died aged 96 at her Scottish holiday home, holds the record for the longest reign at 70 years.

British media have reported that Charles wants to scale down some of the customary grandeur around the coronation, mindful that it would come as the country grapples with a cost of living crisis. The palace said it would maintain the "core elements" of the traditional ceremony "while recognizing the spirit of our times."

Charles is king and head of state not only of the United Kingdom but of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.