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Oct. 11 (UPI) -- The coronation of King Charles III has been scheduled for May 6 of next year at Westminster Abbey in London, Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday adding that the ceremony, while steeped in tradition, will also "look towards the future." The coronation will take place eight months after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September at the age of 96, to allow the country more time to mourn and to plan the ceremony, the announcement said.
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Charles will be crowned king, alongside his wife Camilla who will be crowned queen consort. The former Prince Charles was formally confirmed as Britain's new king several days after the queen's death in a ceremony at St. James' Palace.
The coronation, to be held at Westminster Abbey where every coronation ceremony has been held for the last 900 years, will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby who delivered the sermon at the queen's funeral.
"The coronation will reflect the monarch's role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry," the palace said.
"The ceremony has retained a similar structure for over a thousand years, and next year's coronation is expected to include the same core elements while recognizing the spirit of our times," the palace added.
Like Queen Elizabeth, who had her coronation on June 2 in 1953, King Charles will be "anointed, blessed and consecrated" by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The tradition has been conducted at most royal coronations since 1066, according to the palace.
While the queen's coronation included 8,000 guests and lasted almost three hours, King Charles' coronation is expected to be smaller and shorter.
Queen Elizabeth, Britain's longest-serving monarch, died at her Balmoral estate in Scotland on Sept. 8, three months after the country celebrated her Platinum Jubilee following 70 years on the throne.
King Charles is the oldest child of Queen Elizabeth and the late Prince Philip, who died last year.
