Coronations - pomp and pageantry or a vital link with the timeless traditions of taking the throne?

In our second coronation special, History Hit’s Matt Lewis digs deep into the past to investigate how centuries old aspects of Anglo-Saxon and Medieval coronations will be mirrored in Charles III’s ceremony. To dig deep into the ancient roots of the coronation ceremony, Matt heads to London's Westminster Abbey and Temple Church, as well as Butser Ancient Farm and Winchester Great Hall, exploring how medieval royal pageantry, some over a thousand years old, still shapes what we will witness in 2023. With the help of coronations expert Dr George Gross, Matt uncovers the fundamentals of a coronation: the recognition, election, oath, homage and of course the highly symbolic glittering crown! And we also discover that a double coronation, just like Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, wasn’t so unusual in the medieval world.

And if you enjoy this film, check out ‘The Road to the Crown’ as Royal Historian Tracy Borman follows in the footsteps of Elizabeth I’s coronation procession in 1559.