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CNN Live Event/Special

The Coronation Of The King And The Queen. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired May 06, 2023 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[06:00:00]

(SINGING)

SAMUEL STRACHAN, CHILD OF HIS MAJESTY'S CHAPEL ROYAL: Your Majesty, as children of the kingdom of God we welcome you in the name of the king of kings.

KING CHARLES III: In his name and after his example have come not to be served but to serve.

[06:05:21]

MOST REV. JUSTIN WELBY, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

Alleluia. Christ is risen.

ALL: He is risen indeed. Alleluia.

WELBY: Dearly beloved, we are gathered to offer worship and praise to Almighty God; to celebrate the life of our nations; to pray for Charles, our King; to recognize and to give thanks for his life of service to this nation, the realms, and the Commonwealth.

And to witness with joy his anointing and crowning, his being set apart and consecrated for the service of his people.

Let us dedicate ourselves alike, in body, mind, and spirit, to a renewed faith, a joyful hope, and a commitment to serve one another in love.

(SINGING)

WELBY: I hear present unto you, King Charles, your undoubted King. Wherefore, all you who are come this day to do your homage and service are you willing to do the same?

ALL: God save King Charles.

WELBY: God save King Charles.

LADY ANGIOLINI, A LADY OF THE THISTLE: I here present unto you King Charles, your undoubted King: Wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service, are you willing to do the same?

[06:10:09]

ALL: God save King Charles.

CHRISTOPHER FINNEY, CHAIR OF THE VICTORIA CROSS AND GEORGE CROSS ASSOCIATION: I here present on to you, King Charles your undoubted King. Wherefore all you are come this state to do your homepage and service. Are you willing to do the same?

ALL: God save King Charles.

BARONESS AMOS, A LADY OF THE GARTER: I hear present unto you, King Charles, your undoubted King. Wherefore, all you are come this day to do your homage and service. Are you willing to do the same?

ALL: God save King Charles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, to keep you ever mindful of the law and the Gospel of God as the Rule for the whole life and government of Christian Princes, receive this Book, the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; This is the royal Law; These are the lively Oracles of God.

WELBY: Your Majesty, the Church established by law, whose settlement you will swear to maintain, is committed to the true profession of the Gospel, and, in so doing, will seek to foster an environment in which people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely.

The Coronation Oath has stood for centuries and is enshrined in law. Are you willing to take the Oath?

KING CHARLES: I am willing

WELBY: Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the Peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, your other Realms and the Territories to any of them belonging or pertaining, according to their respective laws and customs?

KING CHARLES: I solemnly promise so to do.

WELBY: Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgements?

KING CHARLES: I will.

WELBY: Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel? Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law?

[06:15:07]

Will you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England? And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England, and to the Churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?

KING CHARLES: All this I promise to do. The things which I have here before promised I will perform and keep. So help me God.

WELBY: Your Majesty, are you willing to make, subscribe and declare to the statutory Accession Declaration Oath?

KING CHARLES: I am willing.

I Charles do solemnly and sincerely in the presence of God profess, testify, and declare that I am a faithful Protestant, and that I will, according to the true intent of the enactments which secure the Protestant succession to the Throne, uphold and maintain the said enactments to the best of my powers according to law.

(SINGING)

KING CHARLES: God of compassion and mercy whose Son was sent not to be served but to serve, give grace that I may find in thy service perfect freedom and in that freedom knowledge of thy truth. Grant that I may be a blessing to all thy children, of every faith and conviction, that together we may discover the ways of gentleness and be led into the paths of peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[06:20:05]

(SINGING)

[06:25:20]

WELBY: Let us pray. Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendor, look with favor upon thy servant Charles our King, and bestow upon him such gifts of wisdom and love that we and all thy people may live in peace and prosperity and in loving service one to another, to thine eternal glory; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme over all things, one God, now and forever. Amen.

RISHI SUNAK, BRITHS PRIME MINISTER: The reading is taken from the first chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness. Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. This is the word of the Lord.

ALL: Thanks be to God.

SUNAK: Thanks be to God.

(SINGING)

[06:30:00]

DAME SARAH MULLALLY, DEAN OF HM CHAPELS ROYAL: The Lord be with you.

CONGREGATION: And with thy spirit.

MULLALLY: Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

CONGREGATION: Glory be to thee, oh, Lord.

MULLALLY: Jesus came to Nazareth where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto Him the book of the Prophet Isaiah. And when He'd opened the book, He found the place where it was written, "the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.

He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And He closed the book, and gave it again to the minister and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him.

And He began to say unto them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." This is the gospel of the Lord.

CONGREGATION: Praise be to thee, oh, Christ.

(ACAPPELLA)

JUSTIN WELBY, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: Come, Holy Spirit, and fill our hearts with the flame of your love. Amen!

[06:35:00]

We are here to crown a king. And we crown a king to serve. What is given today is for the gain of all. For Jesus Christ announced a kingdom in which the poor and oppressed are freed from the chains of injustice. The blind see. The bruised and brokenhearted are healed. That kingdom sets the aims of all righteous government, all authority.

And the kingdom also sets the means of all government and authority. For Jesus doesn't grasp power or hold on to status. The King of Kings, Jesus Christ, was anointed not to be served, but to serve. He creates the unchangeable law of good authority. That with the privilege of power comes the duty to serve. Service is love in action.

We see active love in our care for the most vulnerable. The way we nurture and encourage the young in the conservation of the natural world. We have seen those priorities in the life of duty lived by our king. Today, we have the honor of being in this abbey with so many who show such love.

You work with charities and organizations. You build community. You serve the nation in armed forces, in emergency services and so many other ways. Next door are 400 or more extraordinary young people in St. Margaret's Church whose lives speak of service. Around the world in realms and commonwealth, are so many more.

You live your lives for the sake of others. The unity you show, the example you give is what binds us together and offers societies that are strong, joyful, happy and glorious. They bear heavyweights for us. And the weight of the task given today, your majesties, is only bearable by the spirit of God, who gives us the strength to give our lives to others.

With the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the king is given freely what no ruler can ever attain through will or politics or war or tyranny. The Holy Spirit draws us to love in action. This is promised by Jesus, who put aside all privilege, because as the first reading tells us, God will give all things for our sake, even His own life. His throne was a cross. His crown was made of thorns. His regalia were the wounds that pierced His body.

Each of us is called by God to serve. Whatever that looks like in our own lives, each of us can choose God's way today. We can say to the King of Kings, God himself, as does the king here today, give grace, that in thy service, I may find perfect freedom. In that prayer, there is promise beyond measure, joy beyond dreams, hope that endures.

[06:40:00]

By that prayer, for every king, every ruler, and yes, for every person, for all of us, we are opened to the transforming love of God. Amen.

(CHOIR SINGING)

Blessed art thou, sovereign God, upholding with thy grace all who are -- all who called to thy service. The prophets of old anointed priests and kings to serve in thy name, and in the fullness of time, thy only Son was anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the Christ, the savior and servant of all.

By the power of the same spirit, grant that this holy oil may be for thy servant Charles a sign of joy and gladness, that as king, he may know the abundance of thy grace and the power of thy mercy, and that we may be made a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for thine own possession. Blessed be God, our strength and our salvation, now and forever, Amen.

CONGREGATION: Be God, our strength and our salvation, now and forever, Amen.

(MUSIC)

[06:45:00]

(CHOIR SINGING)

[06:50:00]

WELBY: Receive these spurs, symbols of military honor and chivalry, that you may be a brave advocate for those in need.

(CHOIR SINGING)

Hear our prayers, and Lord, we beseech you, and so direct and support thy servant, King Charles, that he may not bear the sword in vain, but may use it as the minister of God to resist evil and defend the good through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Receive this kingly sword. May it be to you and to all who witness these things a sign and symbol, not of judgment, but of justice, not of might, but of mercy.

(CHOIR SINGING)

With this sword, do justice. Stop the growth of iniquity, protect the holy Church of God and all people of goodwill. Help and defend widows and orphans. Restore the things that have gone to decay. Maintain the things that are restored. Punish and reform what is amiss, and confirm what is in good order.

That doing these things, you may be glorious in all virtue, and so faithfully serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this life, that you may reign forever with Him in the life which is to come. Amen!

[06:55:00]

(CHOIR SINGING)

Receive the bracelets of sincerity and wisdom, token of the Lord's protection, embracing you on every side.

Receive this robe. May the Lord clothe you with the robe of righteousness and with the garments of salvation.

Receive this orb, set under the cross, and remember always that the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ.

Receive this ring, a symbol of kingly dignity, and a sign of the covenant sworn this day between God and king, king and people.

Receive this glove that you may hold authority with gentleness and grace, trusting not in your own power, but in the mercy of God.