CAYMAN DELEGATION JOINS MILLIONS IN UK FOR KING’S CORONATION

By Staff Writer

An official delegation from the Cayman Islands will representatives from other UK Overseas Territories, the Commonwealth and the wider world at ceremonies in London this weekend for the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III.

The Cayman Islands delegation will be led by Cayman’s newly installed Governor Her Excellency Jane Owen.

They will join an estimated one million plus visitors expected in London for the historic occasion.

The Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort will take place at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6th May 2023.

As explained on royal.uk, the official website of the British Royal Family, “The Service will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury and will reflect the Monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.”

King Charles III, who became heir apparent on the accession to the throne of his mother Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 on the death of her father, himself ascended to the throne on her passing on September 8th 2022. Queen Elizabeth’s reign lasted 70 years, the second-longest in world history surpassed only by Louis XIV of France who served two years longer.

The reign of 74-year-old King Charles III is known as the Carolean era. The name originates from Carolus, the Latin name for Charles. The reigns of Charles I from 1625 to 1649, and Charles II, from 1660 to 1685, were also named the Carolean eras.

Uncertainty and debate around whether the wide of King Charles III, Camilla, will be known as Queen Consort or Queen after the coronation, appears to have been settled with this notice published by the official British Government website gov.uk.

It reads: “On Sunday 7 May, a concert will be held in the grounds of Windsor Castle to mark the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The concert will be attended by a public audience including volunteers from charities supported by Their Majesties.”

Since, King Charles’s accession to the throne last September, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, has carried the title of Queen Consort.

A long weekend public holiday has been declared throughout the UK for the occasion. The formal event of the coronation along with a series of public functions and social gatherings are expected to add a boost, albeit short-term, to the UK economy.

Numerous national events and hordes of tourists arriving in the UK for the occasion and to be first-hand witnesses (or at least be physically in the British capital) while history is being made.

The national celebratory mood will echo throughout the land and for a weekend at least divert attention, if only briefly, away from gloom about the economy, a series of strikes by nurses, teachers and public transport workers and others, and uncertainties in the political arena.

The coronation weekend is expected to pump around £71 million into the UK economy, according to experts.

According to one analysis, “It'll be a party fit for a king, with a price tag to match: The long weekend is expected to cost British taxpayers at least £100 million ($125 million).”

The Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates that extra tourism and spending in pubs, which are allowed to stay open later over the weekend, will provide a £337 million boost to the economy. The UK Beer and Pub Association alone says that the industry is anticipating a turnover boost of £71 million to the industry.

Last year’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II attracted some 2.6 million visitors to London and the coronation of King Charles III is expected to have a similar impact although the numbers might not reach that peak.