Press Releases29 Apr 23

Primate to participate in Coronation

The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, the Most Revd John McDowell, is honoured to have been asked to present the Sovereign’s Orb at the Coronation Service of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Westminster Abbey on Saturday, 6th May.

The invitation to take part in the Coronation Service was made on behalf of Their Majesties the King and Queen and the Archbishop of Canterbury on account of Archbishop McDowell’s position as Archbishop of Armagh, the most senior Anglican Bishop in the Church of Ireland and also “in recognition of the great service you have given warmly and wholeheartedly to your Province, the Church, and The Communion, as well as your significant contributions to public life”.

The Archbishop’s role in the coronation involves receiving the Sovereign’s Orb from the Dean of Westminster and taking it to the Archbishop of Canterbury who places it in the King’s hand, with the words: “Receive this Orb, set under the Cross, and remember always the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.”