Broadcaster Huw Edwards admitted he saw a part of King Charles’s Coronation that he wasn’t supposed to. During the two-hour ceremony, the new King was anointed in what is considered the most sacred part. The tradition is so sacred it is hidden from public view and took place behind a specially-created screen. However, the newsreader confessed he had a clear view of the moment, the Daily Mail reports.
Mr Edwards, who was one of 2,000 guests in Westminster Abbey for the historic day, admitted to having a clear view of the anointing, despite the screens that had been put in place to prevent prying eyes.
He said: “‘I was up in the triforium, overlooking the nave. Even though I averted my eyes, you could see what was going on. I looked away. I thought, “If anyone sees me looking I am dead.”
The anointing is regarded as a sacred moment between the sovereign and God and is not photographed or televised.
Charles was anointed with holy Chrism oil, made using olives from the Mount of Olives and consecrated in Jerusalem.
The screen used to shield the moment was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework and was designed by iconographer Aidan Hart.
The King’s Coronation featured a number of changes to that of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
The service was an hour shorter than that of the late Queen, featured female bishops and leaders of other faiths for the first time, and was widely seen as the most inclusive, diverse coronation in history.
The procession route taken by the King and Queen Camilla was also much shorter, only travelling 1.3 miles through central London, compared to a five-mile journey taken by Queen Elizabeth on the day of her Coronation.
