Royal Central - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
The King has received the Coronation Roll, the traditional record of the moment he was crowned
King Charles was presented with the handwritten manuscript at Buckingham Palace, almost a year to the day since the Coronation.
For over 700 years, monarchs have been given illuminated transcriptions of the events of the ancient rite but the roll for King Charles contains an important change. For the first time, the vellum used for the manuscript has been made without any animal products.
It’s in keeping with the changes made by The King for his Coronation when, for the first time, the Oil of Chrism used at the moment of anointing was also free of animal products.
The record of the Coronation has taken months to complete. It stretches out to 21 metres in length and on it the story of the crowning of King Charles is told in over 11,500 words, inked on in copperplate writing.
The calligrapher, Stephanie von Werthern-Gill, worked on it for 56 days in a row.
As he viewed the roll for the first time, alongside Queen Camilla, King Charles jokingly asked if there were any spelling mistakes. Just one dot is missing over an ‘i’ at the very end of the roll which was hand stitched to complete the record.
The roll is also illustrated with Tim Noad, who designed The King’s cypher, responsible for that artwork. Also included in the 21 metres of material are the Coronation documents signed by The King on the day he was crowned.
The manuscript serves as an official record of the historic event, noting the ceremonies, processions and promises of the Coronation service as well as detailing some of the guests including members of the Royal Family, politicians and overseas representatives.
The manuscript will eventually be kept in the Rolls Chapel. But in another innovation, the record of King Charles III’s Coronation has also been digitised with an online version available for everyone to access.