At the heart of the coronation is a ritual in which the Archbishop of Canterbury anoints The King with oil. This custom, with roots in the Old Testament, can be traced back to the coronation of King Edgar by St Dunstan in 973. At this coronation, the oil will come from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where The King’s grandmother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, is buried.

The outward and visible act of anointing signifies an inward grace: we pray that God would bless and set apart King Charles to serve the people of our nation and Commonwealth with humility and joy. The words of Isaiah, adopted by Jesus himself at the start of his ministry, will be an inspiration.