Prince William Reportedly Has Key Role in King Charles III's Coronation
Prince William will have an important role during King Charles III's Coronation on May 6. William will present his father with the Stole Royal and the Robe Royal during the Westminster Abbey ceremony, according to the Church of England's coronation liturgy.
The Robe and Stole Royal are representations of what the King is given by God as the U.K.'s new sovereign, the church's website notes. A new Stole was created specifically for King Charles' coronation as a gift from the Worshipful Company of Girdlers. It includes Christian iconography like "the gridirons of St Lawrence (the patron saint of the Girdlers Company who produced the Stole), and palm branches." The Palms are symbols of martyrdom and a "reminder of the humble entry of Jesus as a Servant King into Jerusalem." The term "stole" comes from the ancient Greek word for "scarf." Queen Elizabeth II also had a new stole made for her coronation in 1953.
The Robe is not new, but it brings with it significant history, as E! News points out. The Imperial Mantle was made for King George IV in 1821 and was designed similarly to a priestly robe. "This link with priestly robes was a reminder of the divine nature of kingship," the Royal Collection Trust notes. The mantle of "cloth of gold woven in colored threads with a pattern of emblems in a curvilinear pattern of foliage, crowns, fleur-de-lis and eagles with colored roses, thistles and shamrock woven over, and with gold fringing and lined in red tabby silk." It also features a gold clasp cast in the form of an eagle.
Prince William, 40, inherited his father's title of Prince of Wales after King Charles became king in September 2022, following Queen Elizabeth's death. William is now next in line for the throne and will kneel before his father and receive the Homage of Royal Blood after Charles' coronation. "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," William will tell his father. William's son Prince George, now second in line to the throne, will serve as one of the Pages of Honor.
"We're all very excited about Prince George's role in the coronation, it will be an incredibly special moment," a Kensington Palace spokesperson told PEOPLE on April 14. "His parents are very excited and delighted that he is a page. It's something that his parents have thought long and hard about and are very much looking forward to – and I'm sure George is too."