King Charles has reportedly barred television cameras from filming him being anointed with holy oil before he is crowned.
The monarch, 74, is said to have dumped initial plans to show it from behind a see-through canopy and will instead apparently “shield himself from public view during the most sacred part of the ceremony”, according to the Daily Mirror.
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A royal source told the newspaper it would be the most sacred moment of the ceremony at Westminster Abbey on 6 May, adding: “The King takes his role and relationship (with God) extremely seriously and will continue with the anointing as it has been carried out before in full.”
The late Queen had the oil poured over her head during her 1953 coronation as a gold cloth canopy was held above the monarch.
Charles and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, 75, will both be anointed with the Chrism oil, consecrated in March at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.
Charles’ coronation will fall on a Saturday, and the following day, Windsor Castle is set to host a concert that will be broadcast around the world, with thousands of street parties in the afternoon across the UK.
It will be followed by a Bank Holiday on Monday, May 8, which will give millions of people a day off work.
The ceremony will start with Camilla being crowned, before Charles is officially made monarch by the St Edward’s Crown being placed on his head by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
A procession will lead the newly-anointed king – who is to be anointed with vegan holy oil – past thousands of people to Buckingham Palace, where he will join members of the royal family on the balcony to wave at fans.
The plans follow reports last year that Charles was intent on having a “slimmed down” coronation compared to his late mother’s when 8,251 people squeezed into Westminster Abbey to mark her ascension to the throne.