King Charles' Coronation Will Feature Some Big Breaks From Tradition

With less than a month to go until King Charles III's coronation, there are more and more reliable reports about what the ceremony will look like. Details published by The Associated Press on Monday indicate that there will be several major breaks from royal tradition that the public hasn't heard about before. These include the procession itself, the length of the ceremony and even Queen Consort Camilla's involvement.

The Coronation of King Charles III will be the first coronation of its kind since 1953, and the new king is striving to honor tradition while streamlining and modernizing the process. To start with, he will reportedly take a much shorter route from his residence to the church. Previous monarchs have made a procession throughout the city of London before arriving at Westminster Abbey, giving everyone a chance to see them. Thanks to television and live streaming, that's not much of a limitation now, so they will take a more direct route though they will still visit some auspicious landmarks.

The king and queen consort will travel about 1.3 miles to get to Westminster Abbey in a custom horse-drawn coach built for Queen Elizabeth II. By comparison, Queen Elizabeth's route was about five miles. They will go under the Admiralty Arch, past Trafalgar Square where there is a statue of King Charles I and past the houses of Parliament.

Another change will be Camilla's involvement and the particular trappings of power she will carry. She will reportedly wear a crown previously belonging to Queen Mary, and will carry a scepter made of ivory. The U.K. has a strict ban on elephant ivory products and the heir, Prince William, has been personally involved in campaigns to stop the sale of such products. Apparently, for royal artifacts, that rule can be overlooked.

Perhaps the biggest step to modernize this event will be the establishment of a custom "coronation emoji," which will appear on social media when users enter specific hashtags while posting about the coronation. The emoji will reportedly be based on the real crown that will be placed on the king's head – a 4.9-pound solid gold piece with a purple velvet cap and and ermine band. It will be adorned with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnets, topazes and tourmalines. It was worn by Queen Elizabeth II during her coronation as well.

Finally, the most general changes announced on Monday were plans to make the ceremony itself shorter and less extravagant so that the whole event could be more modest and modern. This will be accomplished in a number of different ways, with the intention of preserving the sense of power and authority for the royals. The coronation is scheduled for Saturday, May 6 and will be televised around the world.