Millions are expected to watch online and on their televisions as King Charles III is officially crowned on Saturday, 6 May.
The time difference between London and the Cayman Islands means the two-hour ceremony at Westminster Abbey will begin at 5am Cayman time and, no doubt, there will be plenty of royalists on island wishing to watch this moment in history live, who’ll be setting their alarms very early.
The coronation of Charles as King and his wife Camilla as Queen will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
Among the dignitaries at the coronation will be Cayman’s Premier Wayne Panton and Governor Jane Owen. A contingent of the Cayman Islands Regiment will be taking part in the parade.
The crown
Charles will be crowned with the 360-year-old St. Edward’s Crown, which is a foot tall and weighs nearly five pounds.
The crown, which was also used more than 70 years ago in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, is made of 22-carat gold and 444 precious and semi-precious stones, including 345 rose-cut aquamarines, 37 white topaz, 27 tourmalines, 12 rubies, seven amethysts, six sapphires, two jargoons, one garnet, one spinel and one carbuncle.
Camilla will be crowned with Queen Mary’s gold-lined silver crown, which has 2,200 diamonds.
Celebrations
Throughout the weekend, in typical British fashion, street parties are expected be held throughout the UK to mark the coronation.
Cayman will be holding its own party to celebrate the coronation on Monday, 8 May, which is a public holiday designated to mark the event.
The family-friendly celebration, hosted by government, will be held on Cardinall Avenue in George Town, from 4pm to 8pm. It will feature live music, food stalls and a kids corner, and will culminate in a fireworks display.
Apart from the Cardinall Avenue party, there don’t appear to be too many events being held to celebrate the coronation at restaurants, bars or hotels in Cayman.
However, the Union Grill in Camana Bay is hosting a Coronation High Tea, between 3pm and 5pm on Saturday, 6 May.
Patrons are invited to dress to the nines and toast the new King and his Queen.
The restaurant will be hosting a “very classy high tea with unlimited bubbles, sandwiches, cakes and savouries”, at a cost of $75, plus grats. There will be prizes for best dress and best hat.
For those who feel like having their own high tea at home, or maybe even on the beach, but aren’t adept at cutting the edges off delicate cucumber sandwiches or baking their own scones, Icoa is offering an ‘Afternoon Tea Box’ for two on Saturday, for $80, available for pickup or delivery after 10am. The special coronation tea box includes a bottle of Prosecco, sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and desserts.
Hurley’s is also offering a ‘High Tea Box’ for two, for $35, which includes sandwiches, fruit, scones and macarons.
UK concert
In the UK, on Sunday, 7 May, (2pm Cayman time) a star-studded Coronation Concert will be staged and broadcast live at Windsor Castle by the BBC, for which thousands of tickets were made available via public ballot.
The line-up includes Take That (minus Robbie Williams and Jason Orange), Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. Also performing will be tenor Andrea Bocelli, who played a concert in Cayman in February; he will be singing a duet with Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer, Sir Bryn Terfel. Singer-songwriter Freya Ridings and classical-soul composer and producer Alexis French will also perform.
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