The Holy Chrism, the anointing oil to be used for the coronation of UK King Charles III in May, has been blessed in Jerusalem, Buckingham Palace has announced.
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III and Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem Hosam Naoum blessed the Holy Chrism on Friday in a “special ceremony” at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City - the site where Jesus was crucified, laid in a tomb and resurrected according to Christian tradition - the palace said in a statement.
It is with this oil that Charles III and his wife Queen Consort Camilla will be anointed at their coronation at Westminster Abbey in London on 6 May.
The oil was made from olives harvested from two olive groves on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, at the Ascension Monastery and St Mary Magdalene Church, where Charles’ grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, is buried.
The olives were pressed in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
“Scented with essential oils,” it contains essences of sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon and orange flower. Made from the same ingredients as the oil used at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, it is based on a formula “used for hundreds of years,” the palace said on Friday.
For Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Anglican Church, the oil “reflects Charles III’s personal family connection with the Holy Land. From the kings of antiquity to the present day, monarchs have been blessed with oil from this sacred place.”
