Prince William’s Sweet Gesture During Coronation Of His Father Saw Charles Give Emotional Three-Word Answer

May 07, 2023

King Charles III acceded the British throne on Sept. 8, 2022, the same day his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, passed in Balmoral. While it is not necessary for a monarch to be crowned in order to become king, the coronation ceremony is a formality and a state occasion. This means that while Charles may offer his views, at the end of the day, full control of the guest list and other details are with the government as it is footing the bill.

The last time a coronation took place was Elizabeth’s on June 2, 1953, at Westminster Abbey, the setting for every coronation since 1066. It was also the first time the ceremony had ever been televised. An estimated 27 million people in the United Kingdom and millions more around the world watched as the sixth queen of England was crowned. 

She and her husband, Prince Philip, rode the exquisitely decorated Gold State Coach from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey pulled by eight horses. The event comprised six parts: the recognition, the oath, the anointing, the investiture and crowning, the enthronement and the homage.

On May 6, 2023, Charles celebrated his own coronation at Westminster Abbey, further marking his time as king. His wife, Camilla, has been referred to as Queen Consort since Elizabeth’s passing, but was officially crowned as Queen Camilla along with Charles. The coronation was marked by the royal family being in attendance in full regalia as well as plenty of brilliantly talented guests.

And as the ceremony progressed, fans and viewers were able to catch quite a few emotional moments between various royals and guests. First among those was an emotional moment between Prince William and his father Charles. Keep reading to learn more about this special moment.

As per tradition, Charles and Camilla took part in the coronation procession on the day of the king’s coronation. While in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, they traveled along the traditional procession route from Buckingham Palace in “The King’s Procession” to Westminster Abbey. The coach has only ever transported the Sovereign, as it was originally created for Queen Elizabeth II in honor of the 60th anniversary of her reign. 

After the procession arrived at Westminster Abbey, the coronation service started around 11 a.m. The Coronation Service was live-streamed and televised, at one point drawing roughly half a million viewers on YouTube. The guest list for the event was massive, with 2,200 guest in attendance. This included not only members of the whole royal family, extensive as it is already, but also roughly 100 Heads of State, representatives from more than 200 countries across the world, many of them Commonwealth members, as well as other important or famous people.

Every guest had received a hand-painted invitation beforehand, which was also shared by the official Royal’s Instagram a month before the coronation. 

There were also a few notable absences from the guest list, among them US President Joe Biden, who was represented by his First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. Another noted absence were Meghan Markle, wife of Prince Harry, and her two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

In front of all these guests, Charles and Camilla were officially crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Charles received St Edward's Crown to mark his title, while Camilla received Queen Mary's Crown.

Buckingham Palace’s assurance ahead of the event that the ceremony would be “rooted in longstanding traditions” but will also “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future,” intensified talk that Charles will soon make some substantial changes to better reflect a modern monarchy.

Many traditions were maintained for the 2023 ceremony. Among them was the use of the Gold State Coach, which was extensively refurbished for the queen’s Platinum Jubilee in early 2022 and has been used in every coronation since George IV’s in 1821. The elaborate horse-drawn carriage boasts intricate gilded carvings of cherubs and tritons, painted panels, and an interior lined with velvet and satin. The coach is so heavy it has to be pulled by at least eight horses, and even then, only at the pace of a walk.

However, Charles also asked that many traditions be changed. This became apparent during the ceremony. Traditionally, the Archbishop of Canterbury would present the new king four times, once in each cardinal direction. Instead, during the 2023 ceremony, the Archbishop only presented the new king once. The three other directions were taken up by three different presenters, who were all members of British knight’s orders or holders of bravery medals. And this was not the only change.

Traditionally, members of the royal family and dukes would pay homage to the new king and swear their allegiance to the crown. King Charles opted to slim down this part of the ceremony and only his eldest son Prince William was scheduled to pay the Homage of Royal Blood. However, William surprised the king as well as onlookers with a deviation of his own during the ceremony.

Dropping to his knees in front of his father - which is not part of the usual protocol - William swore allegiance in an emotional moment, saying: “I, William, Prince of Wales, pledge my loyalty to you and faith and truth I will bear unto you, as your liege man of life and limb. So help me God.” He finished his pledge by touching King Charles’s crown and pressing a kiss to his father’s cheek. The king was visibly moved by William’s actions and even murmured "thank you, William" afterward.

What did you think about the emotional moment between father and son? Did you watch the coronation and did you like it? Pass this along to any other royal fans that might be interested!