More than 400,000 nickel-silver medals, each on a red, white and blue ribbon, were made in Britain for the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6 May 2023.
The government unveiled the design the day before the ceremony. On the front, Charles and Camilla appear in a double portrait, both facing left, drawn by Martin Jennings, who also designed the King’s official effigy for the new coins from the Royal Mint. The back carries the royal cypher CIIIR under the Tudor Crown, a laurel wreath and the coronation date. The medal is nickel silver, and Worcestershire Medal Service made it. Phil McDermott of that firm designed the reverse.
The ribbon takes its pattern from the one used for the 1902 coronation medal of Edward VII. It is 32 millimetres wide, with a red centre stripe, white on either side, then dark blue and red edges.
Who gets one
The King called the medals a thank-you gift. Recipients include:
- people who took an active part in the coronation events at Westminster Abbey and the processions;
- serving members of the armed forces with five full calendar years of service on 6 May 2023, or who took part in armed forces coronation events during 2023;
- frontline emergency personnel, paid, retained or volunteer, with the same five years;
- publicly employed prison service staff with five years;
- living holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the medal recognised the part emergency services would play on the day, and also “the heroes across our emergency services, such as the police, fire and rescue services, that go to work every day to protect and support us all.” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the armed forces and the monarch share “a unique bond.”
The medal was not limited to Britons. Some people in other Commonwealth realms received it too. Several Australians were given the British medal as a personal gift from the King, a decision made by Buckingham Palace, and some New Zealanders got it as well.
Canada’s own medal
Canada made its own version, the first domestic medal its government had created for a coronation. The Royal Canadian Mint struck 30,000 of them. They went to 4,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces, 1,000 public service employees and, in a separate allocation, 1,300 Royal Canadian Mounted Police members, along with people who had made a significant contribution to Canada or won achievements abroad that brought credit to the country. Canadian citizenship was not required.
Only the King’s portrait, facing right, is on the Canadian obverse. The reverse shows the cypher beneath the Canadian Royal Crown, over a sunburst. The ribbon matches the British one.
Canada’s medal was slow to appear. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the programme on 3 May 2023, but the medal was only unveiled on 6 May 2024, the first anniversary of the coronation, when Governor General Mary Simon hosted a virtual ceremony for lieutenant governors and territorial commissioners.
Sources
- King Charles III Coronation Medal – Wikipedia
- King Charles III to confer thank-you Coronation Medals to thousands
Sources
- King Charles III Coronation Medal – Wikipedia
- King Charles III to confer thank-you Coronation Medals to thousands
