The anniversary of King Charles III’s coronation is marked by ceremonial gun salutes in London

LONDON – Ceremonial gun salutes echoed across London under soggy skies on Monday to mark the anniversary of the coronation of King Charles III.

Smoke billowed from the barrels of six large horse-drawn guns in a 41-gun salute in Green Park, near Buckingham Palace, at midday. An hour later, three guns fired a 62-gun salute from Tower Wharf, next to the River Thames.

Charles and Queen Camilla were crowned at Westminster Abbey on May 6, 2023, in a glitzy spectacle that echoed medieval times when he was anointed as monarch following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022.

Last year was overshadowed by his cancer diagnosis, but it helped humanize him and connect him with the British people, who didn’t always expect so much openness from the royal family.

Rohan Wadke, a visitor to Buckingham Palace, applauded Charles for confiding in the public about his health problems.

“It’s still taboo for a lot of people,” Wadke said.

Charles, 75, returned to public duty last week with a visit to a cancer treatment center, where he held the hand of a patient receiving chemotherapy drugs and told her she should receive treatment that afternoon.

Despite rain reminiscent of last year’s coronation, visitors still turned out to watch the Royal Horse Artillery of the King’s Troop, with gunners in their gold braided jackets, firing the salute while the Band of the Irish Guards played music in the park near the palace .

Manda Pillay-Maloney said she visited the palace on Monday – a public holiday in the UK – to celebrate the year since Charles was crowned.

“Excited, happy to be here,” Pillay-Maloney said. “It’s my first stop since I got back from Stevenage, just to… pay my respects and say, hey, thanks… you’re doing a good job.”