- Sean Coughlan
- BBC News royal correspondent
image source, Jerusalem Patriarchate and Buckingham Palace
The holy oil was consecrated in Jerusalem
The oil used to anoint the king at the coronation is one of the most sacred and mysterious parts of the ceremony.
A new amount has been prepared for the coronation of the British sovereign, Charles III, on May 6. However, in a clear reflection of the current sensitivity towards animals that exists today, this oil will not include any ingredient from animals.
The “chrysmal oil” for the coronation was consecrated Friday in a religious ceremony in Jerusalem, in one of the holiest Christian places in the city, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Earlier versions included oil civet, from the glands of small mammals, and ambergris, from the intestines of whales.
The cruelty to animals to obtain this oil and the need to protect wildlife had raised concerns, so it was finally decided that the formula for the sacred oil for the coronation of King Charles did not contain nothing of animal origin.
image source, Jerusalem Patriarchate and Buckingham Palace
The silver urn containing the chrism oil for the coronation
Although the coronation is considered a great moment of national pageantry and historic rituals, it also contains a strong religious element.
The King’s anointing has echoes of baptism or ordination into religious orders, as the monarch is symbolically touched with holy oil on his head, chest, and hands.
This moment was considered so sacred that at Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 television cameras were not allowed to film it and there has been speculation as to whether the anointing would be shown on television during Charles’s coronation.
Ingredients of the new oil
The new oil includes olive oil scented with a blend of essential oils, sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli (orange blossom oil) and benzoin, to which orange blossom is also added.
It also has significance for the royal family, as it partly uses olives grown on the Mount of Olivesin the Monastery of María Magdalena, which is where the King’s grandmother, Princess Alicia, is buried.
In his Christmas message, the king spoke of his own Christian faith and how he had been moved by visiting biblical sites, such as the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem.
The Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem were in charge of consecrating the oil in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where Jesus is believed to have died and was buried.
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, applauded the decision to use oil from the Mount of Olives, a place outside Jerusalem with many biblical connections.
“This demonstrates the deep historical link between the coronation, the Bible and the Holy Land,” the archbishop said.
He added: “From ancient kings to the present day, monarchs have been anointed with oil from this sacred place.”
The utensils used for anointing – including a spoon – are scant survivors of the original medieval coronation ornaments, most of which were destroyed by order of English military and political leader Oliver Cromwell in 1649.
image source, Getty Images
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