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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
David Clark

Consecration of sacred oil to be used at King Charles' coronation filmed for first time

The consecration of sacred oil that will be used during King Charles' coronation has been filmed for the first time.

Chrism oil will be used to anoint the King during the ceremony on May 6.

Also known as myrrh, chrism oil is created from olives grown on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

The Archbishop of Canterbury will place the oil on the King's chest, head and hand at Westminster Abbey.

The consecration ceremony, which lasted half an hour, was filmed at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Israel.

The chrism oil is made with oils from the Mount of Olives mixed with essential oils (PA)

The Jerusalem church is the site where the body of Jesus was prepared for burial.

The Sun reports that the anointing will be the most sacred part of May’s coronation, as it symbolises the monarch is bound to God.

The ritual, which has been part of coronations at Westminster Abbey since 1066, was not filmed when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953.

The oil has been perfumed with essential oils, sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin, amber and orange blossom.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said in quotes reported by The Sun: “Since beginning the planning for the coronation, my desire has been for a new coronation oil to be produced using olive oil from the Mount of Olives.

The ritual took place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, where Jesus' body was laid and prepared for burial (PA)

“This demonstrates the deep historic link between the coronation, the Bible and the Holy Land.

“From ancient kings through to the present day, monarchs have been anointed with oil from this sacred place.”

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III and Archbishop Hosam Naoum conducted the ceremony.

Preparations for the coronation continue to gather pace, although it remains unclear whether the King's son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle will attend after they were evicted from Windsor residence Frogmore Cottage earlier this week.

The Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers said the move in the wake of scathing comments in Harry's memoir Spare could be very telling.

The oil will be placed on the King by the Archbishop of Canterbury during May's coronation (Patriarchate of Jerusalem/Buckin)

Speaking on ITV's Lorraine, he said: "We are trickling through the days, it's less than 10 weeks now until the Coronation, of course the King is trying to get all of his ducks in a row about what that means for himself, and his family as well.

"Will Harry and Meghan be at the Coronation? This is possibly a big sign that they won't be.

"Will they be welcomed from the family? There is a lot of talk on whether they will come over.

"I was just told last week by people very close to Harry that he hadn't made a decision and he was still undecided.

"However, will that decision be taken out of his hands?"

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