It is always a challenge to introduce a major cast change in a long-running serial. Saturday morning, in a special episode with elements of “The Crown” and “Succession,” King Charles III finally became the focal figure of the royal ensemble — if only for a day.
The coronation of a British ruler is, of course, a political ritual and a religious ceremony. But it is also, as the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 established, a TV show. It’s an anachronistic assertion of divine right retooled to recognize that, in the electronic era, even hereditary rulers have to argue their relevance.
Charles’s coronation was a full-color spectacle, showing off the peacocked glory of British tradition and the bells and whistles of 21st-century TV. Britain brought out its finest garments, its finest relics, its finest rain. The networks took in all the splendor they could capture on camera; there were even graphics offering an X-ray of Westminster Abbey. The term “fairy tale” was deployed more than once.
But fairy tales have messages. This one had many: To convey continuity while styling the monarchy as modern, to reframe the narratives around the royal family and to introduce Charles not just as a leader but as a lead. » | James Poniewozik | Saturday, May 6, 2023
LIRE AUSSI :
Au Royaume-Uni, le couronnement de Charles III, un héritage millénaire à l’épreuve d’une société multiculturelle et sécularisée : La cérémonie religieuse est prévue samedi dans l’abbaye de Westminster. Pour la première fois, des femmes, évêques, prendront part à la liturgie, et les dignitaires portant les insignes royaux refléteront la diversité d’origines des Britanniques. »
LESEN SIE AUCH:
Der König wirkte geradezu fragil: Melancholie und festliche Nachdenklichkeit an einem verregneten Krönungstag: König Charles III. gibt sich gemessen. Der Gottesdienst aber enthält zahlreiche Gesten, die seinen Willen zeigen, ein moderner Monarch zu sein. »
