The Coronation of King Charles III

The coronation will take place on 6 May 2023

by Claire Law

Suitable for Whole School (Sec)

Aims

To consider King Charles’ life and the many firsts that he has experienced.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (The Coronation of King Charles III) and the means to display them.

Assembly

1. Have Slide 1 showing as the students enter the assembly.
   
   Explain that you are going to show some pictures of famous people and you want the students to guess what they all have in common.
   
   
2. Show Slides 2 to 6, stating the name of the person pictured.
   
   - Slide 2 shows the singer, dancer and actress, Beyoncé.
   - Slide 3 shows the former UK prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill.
   - Slide 4 shows the author of the Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling.
   - Slide 5 shows Spanish tennis player, Rafael Nadal.
   - Slide 6 shows our king, Charles III.
   
   
3. Ask the students to suggest what links these famous people.
   
   Listen to a range of responses.
   
   Explain that these people are all first-born children. They are the eldest child in their family, and have at least one younger sibling.
   
   Ask who among the students is the eldest child in their family.
   
   
4. King Charles III is the first-born son of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. Like all of the people we’ve just seen, he was the first child in his family to walk, talk and learn all the other things that we do as children.
   
   However, unlike the rest of these people, for Charles, being the firstborn meant that he was destined to become king one day.
   
   
5. Explain that in today’s assembly, we are going to think about the idea of ‘firsts’ in relation to King Charles III. Although he is not the first King Charles, his life has involved many firsts.
   
   For example, King Charles III is the first king any of us have known in our lifetime. And his upcoming coronation on 6 May will be the first one that many of us will have ever witnessed.
   
   
6. Charles was born in 1948 in Buckingham Palace during the reign of his grandfather, King George VI. After the king’s death in 1952, Charles’ mother acceded to the throne and became Queen Elizabeth II. This made Charles the heir apparent, the person who would succeed the queen as the next monarch.
   
   Charles attended his mother’s coronation when he was just four years old. He was one of the first people to be invited and received his own specially illustrated invitation.
   
   Show Slide 7.
   
   
7. Soon, it was time for Charles to start his education. Initially, he was educated at Buckingham Palace by a governess – a private tutor. At the time, this was the tradition for children who were destined to become king or queen.
   
   However, as Charles approached his eighth birthday, he experienced another first. Instead of continuing to be educated at home, Charles began to attend a local school with other children. He was the first heir apparent to attend school rather than be educated by a private tutor. The school’s headteacher encouraged Charles to join the football team so that he could play as an equal on the pitch with his classmates.
   
   
8. As Charles progressed in his education, he achieved another first. After his A levels, he began a degree at Cambridge University, studying a range of subjects including history and archaeology. He also spent some time studying Welsh language and history at the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth. When Charles graduated from Cambridge, he was the first British heir apparent to earn a university degree.
   
   
9. During Queen Elizabeth II’s long reign, Charles, the Prince of Wales, led an active life and completed thousands of royal engagements and visits. One of these was particularly significant: in 1995, Charles became the first member of the royal family to visit the Republic of Ireland in an official capacity. Twenty years later, Charles and Camilla visited the Republic of Ireland again, which the British Embassy described as an important step in ‘promoting peace and reconciliation’.
   
   
10. Show Slide 8.
    
    Here, we see a photo of a much younger Charles when he joined the House of Lords in 1970. In 1974, he made his first speech from the floor, making him the first royal to do so since 1884.
    
    
11. Charles’ charitable work has always been very important to him. He founded the UK’s leading youth charity, the Prince’s Trust, in 1976 and has been involved in hundreds of other charities as patron, president or member.
    
    Charles’ work with these other charities has led to further firsts. In the 1980s, he was one of the first international figures to speak out against human rights abuses that were happening in Romania under its dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu.
    
    Recently, in January 2020, Charles became the first UK patron of the International Rescue Committee, a charity that aims to help refugees and those who have been displaced by war, persecution or natural disaster.
    
    
12. In July 1981, Charles married Diana, Princess of Wales, and they went on to have two sons, William and Harry. In another first, Charles was the first royal father to be present at his children’s births.
    
    Show Slide 9.
    
    Here, we see Charles with a young William and baby Harry.
    
    
13. Sadly, Charles and Diana divorced 15 years after they married and Diana died in a car crash the following year.
    
    In April 2005, Charles married his second wife Camilla in the Windsor Guildhall. He became the first member of the British royal family to marry in a civil ceremony.
    
    Show Slide 10.
    
    
14. On 8 September 2022, Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died and Charles acceded to the throne at the age of 73. This made him the oldest person to become a British monarch and the first British monarch in 70 years.
    
    In his first speech on becoming king, Charles spoke of his love for his mother. Three months later, in his first Christmas speech as king, he spoke about the power of faith and service, his own personal faith in God and his respect for people of all faiths.
    
    
15. On 6 May, it will be the second time that Charles has attended the coronation of a British monarch, but his first coronation as king.
    
    During the ceremony, a crown will be placed upon his head, and he will make promises before God to rule with justice and mercy. He will pledge to put God and his subjects first.

Time for reflection

As we consider the many firsts in King Charles’ lifetime, including his upcoming coronation, let’s pause to consider what Charles might be thinking and feeling at this time.

Pause to allow time for thought.

Let’s consider how we might feel if we were in Charles’ position. What thoughts or emotions might we experience?

Pause to allow time for thought.

Let’s consider how we might feel about facing things for the first time in our own lives.

Pause to allow time for thought.

One thing we know for certain is that prayer and faith in God will be part of Charles’ coronation day. He has spoken many times about his Christian faith and also his respect for people of all faiths. Many churches and places of worship around the world will be praying for Charles as he approaches his coronation. The support of personal prayer is something that will not be a first for Charles; he has prayed and encouraged prayer in others throughout his life.

Prayer
Dear God,
We thank you for the life of King Charles.
We pray for him as his coronation nears.
We pray for him as he gives his promise to serve our country and the Commonwealth.
We ask for your blessing upon him.
May he continue to walk in faith, and rule with justice and mercy.
May he continue to use his gifts and talents to benefit others.
Amen.