-King Charles III was just four years old
when he joined the world in watching his mother,
Elizabeth II, become queen of the United Kingdom
and its Commonwealth.
70 years later, he prepares for a coronation of his own,
having ascended to the throne as the 42nd British monarch
since William the Conqueror's inaugural coronation
at Westminster Abbey in 1066.
A lot has changed since the world
last witnessed a coronation,
and King Charles said he plans to
avoid the normally lavish ceremony
for a pared-down celebration that aims to be more inclusive
of the country's different ethnic and religious groups.
Ahead of the coronation on May 6th,
here's everything you need to know
about what is taking place and why it's significant.
What exactly is a coronation?
Well, it's not the appointment of Charles becoming king.
He, in fact, became king the moment
his mother died last September.
The coronation is instead a ceremony
dipped in centuries old rituals and symbols,
from ceremonial robes and processions
to orbs and scepters,
most notably of which is the crown
that is placed on the head of the king or queen.
-The key moment is when the monarch
sits on the coronation chair and he is crowned.
He is given the regalia, he is given the orb,
the scepter, all the regalia, the ring.
This all symbolizes that he or she
is taking on the role of monarch.
He actually is saying, "Yes, I will be monarch."
-Coronation Day will include two processions.
The first is the King's Procession,
where Charles will leave Buckingham Palace
in his Diamond Jubilee stagecoach
and ride to Westminster Abbey.
That's where he'll be formally crowned king.
The second procession returns to Buckingham Palace
in the gold stagecoach, which has been used
in every coronation procession since 1831.
Once at the palace, King Charles will be welcomed
with a large parade where he and members of the royal family
will make an appearance on Buckingham Palace balcony.
-Which members of the royal family are on the balcony,
and what does that tell us about what King Charles
wants us to see of his monarchy?
We're told that those members taking part will be those
who represent the heartbeat and the future of the monarchy.
So I think that suggests we'll be seeing
the young Wales children,
Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
-The last coronation was 70 years ago in 1953,
when Elizabeth II was crowned queen of the United Kingdom
and other Commonwealth states.
Her lavish ceremony had over 8,000 guests.
-Westminster Abbey was closed for six months
in order to make the changes needed to fit 8,000 people in.
They had to build stadium-style seating.
They had a train track down the middle of the abbey,
delivering some of the building materials for it.
-But a lot has changed since the last coronation.
The British Empire in 1953 stretched around the world.
Elizabeth was Queen Regent of 32 sovereign states.
That empire has since collapsed, but the Commonwealth remains.
King Charles rules as head of the Commonwealth,
a political grouping of 56 member states
that includes the United Kingdom,
India, Kenya, Canada, and Australia.
Westminster Abbey has been the setting
for every coronation since 1066.
The ceremony has essentially remained
unchanged for centuries.
This will be only the second coronation to be televised.
King Charles has requested a smaller,
more modern ceremony of just 2,000 guests.
-King Charles is treading a fairly delicate path
at the moment
between maintaining traditions of the past,
ensuring stability and continuity
after the death of a much-loved
and the longest-serving monarch in history,
while also trying to reshape the monarchy
so that it is fit for purpose in the 21st century
and fit for the next generations.
-The guest list consists mainly of members
of the royal family.
There's also former prime ministers
and members of parliament,
world leaders, foreign monarchs and faith leaders.
But others were notably left off the guest list.
President Joe Biden will reportedly not be in attendance,
but his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, is scheduled to attend.
And Buckingham Palace confirmed that Charles' youngest son,
Prince Harry, will, in fact, be attending,
but his wife Meghan, will remain in the U.S.
with the couple's children.
King Charles was born in 1948,
the first of four children to Princess Elizabeth,
known for being quiet and quite sensitive,
reportedly bullied at school.
In his adult life, he became
an outspoken advocate for the environment.
-Because if we don't really take
the decisions that are vital now,
is going to be almost impossible to catch up.
-He famously made headlines in 1996
during the breakdown of his marriage
from his wife, Diana, Princess of Wales,
in what became known as the War of the Wales.
-And we've seen a remarkable rehabilitation
over the last years and decades.
He has earned the respect of the people.
He does have a problem with the younger generation,
who are either disinterested
or really don't want to see him king.
And that's where I think we feel the loss of Harry and Meghan
most greatly,
because they were able to reach out to a younger generation
and perhaps help the monarchy to appear
to be more relevant in the 21st century.
And without them, that is a challenge for Charles.