Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: One of the most sacred and mysterious aspects of the coronation ceremony of King Charles on May 6 will be the oil used to anoint him, and a new batch has been prepared.
However, this oil will not contain any animal-derived ingredients due to modern animal-friendly sensitivities. On Friday, the “chrism oil” for the coronation was consecrated in Jerusalem in a religious ceremony. This was done in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, one of the city’s holiest Christian sites. Previous versions contained civet oil derived from small mammal glands and ambergris derived from whale intestines.
Concerns had been raised about the need to protect wildlife from animal cruelty, and the latest formula for King Charles’ coronation holy oil will be animal free. The coronation is viewed as a great moment of national pageantry and historical rituals, but there is a strong religious component. The King’s anointing resembles a christening or ordination into religious orders, with the monarch being touched symbolically with holy oil on the hands, the head, and the chest.
Concerns had been raised about animal cruelty and wildlife protection, and the latest formula for King Charles’ coronation holy oil will be animal free.
Sacred moment
This was considered a very sacred moment that television cameras were not permitted to film it in 1953. There had been speculation about whether the anointing will be shown on TV during the coronation of King Charles on May 6. The new oil contains olive oil scented with a blend of essential oils, sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin, and orange blossom.
It also has royal family ties, as it uses olives grown on the Mount of Olives at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene, where the King’s grandmother, Princess Alice, is buried. In his Christmas message, the King spoke of his own Christian faith and how moved he was when he visited biblical sites such as Jesus’ birthplace in Bethlehem.
The oil was consecrated at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built on the place where it is believed Jesus died and was buried, by the Patriarch and the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, welcomed oil from the Mount of Olives, a location outside of Jerusalem with many biblical connections.
According to the archbishop, this demonstrates the deep historical connection between the coronation, the Bible, and the Holy Land. The anointing implements, including a spoon, are rare survivors of the original medieval coronation regalia, most of which were destroyed on the orders of Oliver Cromwell in 1649.
