| King Charles III Coronation Medal | |
|---|---|
 Reverse and obverse (British medal) | |
| Type | Commemorative medal |
| Awarded for | Community contribution |
| Presented by | King Charles III |
| First award | 2023 (British medal) 2024 (Canadian medal) |
| Total | More than 400,000 British medals[1][note 1] 30,000 Canadian medals[5] |
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| Part ofa series of articles on the |
| Coronation of Charles III andCamilla |
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| Background |
| Events |
| Related |
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TheKing Charles III Coronation Medal (French:médaille du couronnement du roi Charles III) is acommemorative medal created to mark thecoronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, which took place on 6 May 2023.
The UK issued more than 400,000 coronation medals, awarded to individuals who contributed to the coronation, recipients of the UK's highest honours, and selectBritish military personnel, frontline emergency workers, and public prison service staff with five years of service. The British coronation medal was also gifted to a select number of Australians, Canadians and New Zealanders.
Canada issued 30,000 coronation medals, awarding them to select members of theCanadian Armed Forces andPublic Service, as well as individuals who made significant contributions to the country or achieved accomplishments that brought credit to Canada.
The British and Canadian medals are both made ofnickel silver and have identical ribbons. However, the two medal designs differ. The British medal features effigies of both the King and Queen (left profiles), while the Canadian medal only features the King (right profile). On the reverse, the British medal has laurels, theroyal cypher, and theTudor Crown, whereas the Canadian medal displays the Canadian royal cypher with theCanadian Royal Crown over a sunburst design.
The medals are made ofnickel silver and were issued byWorcestershire Medal Service. The effigy on the obverse face designed byMartin Jennings,[6] while the reverse was designed by Phil McDermott of the Worcestershire Medal Service.[7]
The obverse features a crowned effigy of theKing Charles III andQueen Camilla facing left. The reverse shows theroyal cypherCIIIR surmounted by theTudor Crown, a laurel wreath and the date of the coronation, 6 May 2023.[7]
The medal's ribbon is 32 millimetres (1.3 in) in width and includes a red stripe in the centre, with white stripes on each side, followed by dark blue stripes, and then red edge stripes. The design of the ribbon is inspired by the ribbon used for the 1902King Edward VII Coronation Medal. The ribbon is one of the few design elements which are identical between the British and Canadian medals.[8]
More than 400,000 medals were distributed.[1] Those who received the medal include:[9]
Several Australians were awarded the coronation medal administered by the United Kingdom as a personal gift from the King. Each of the recipients had previously been awarded one of Australia's highest honours, namely the Victoria Cross, theVictoria Cross for Australia, George Cross or theCross of Valour.[2][10] This followed past practices for awarding coronation and jubilee medals to Australians.[11] Its conferment was a decision of theBuckingham Palace, not that of theAustralian Government,[12][13] although the Australian Government indicated that it had "no objection" prior to its conferment to Australians.[14][15] They were:[15]
Among the recipients was Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross for Australia recipient, who lost a 2023 civil defamation trial in which the court found that newspapers had successfully proven, on the civil standard of the balance of probabilities, that he was complicit in themurder of four unarmed civilians while deployed in Afghanistan.[12] Three of the initial recipients were presented the medal atGovernment House, Brisbane on 2 May 2024.[2] Another presentation ceremony for these recipients also took place atGovernment House, Perth on 27 June 2024.[13]
The 60Australian Defence Force (ADF) members who participated in the King’s coronation procession to Buckingham Palace were also awarded the medal.[16] Additional ADF personnel were presented the medal by theBritish High Commissioner to Australia,Victoria Treadell, during a ceremony in November 2024.[17]
Members of theCanadian Coronation Contingent who took part in the coronation events in London were awarded the British coronation medal, having been approved for wear by Canada. Contingent members who received the British coronation medal are ineligible to be nominated for the Canadian coronation medal.[3]
Some New Zealanders were awarded the medal.[4] The decision to award the medal is made by the United Kingdom, although New Zealanders requires the approval of theprime minister of New Zealand to wear the medal, as the British medal is considered a foreign honour in New Zealand.[4][18] However, it is listed in New Zealand's official order of wear.[19]
The New Zealand Government did not issue its own medal. Responding to aOfficial Information Act request, the Clerk to theExecutive Council of New Zealand noted that New Zealand hadn't issued medals to mark royal occasions in "recent times", primarily due to cost and difficulty in administering a domestic medal programme.[4]
The British coronation medal was announced on 5 May 2023, the day before the coronation.[1]
TheScottish Government initially stated they would not help fund the British coronation medal. However, the government reversed its decision in October 2023, agreeing to help fund its cost for all eligible Scots. The estimated cost to provide all eligible Scots the medal was £200,000.[20]
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The Canadian medal was the first domestic commemorative medal to mark a coronation.[5][note 2] The Chancellery of Honours of the Office to theSecretary to the Governor General was responsible for administering the medal on behalf of the government of Canada.[5][22] The medals were manufactured by theRoyal Canadian Mint.[8]
The medal was designed by theFraser Herald of theCanadian Heraldic Authority,Cathy Bursey-Sabourin. The medal is made out of nickel silver and is coloured silver, with a diameter of 32 millimetres (1.3 in), and with a ring suspension.[8]
The obverse features a crowned and robed effigy of the King facing right, circumscribed by the inscription "CHARLES III DEI GRATIA REX • CANADA" (Latin: "Charles III, by the Grace of God, King • Canada").[8] The reverse shows the royal cypherCIIIR surmounted by theCanadian Royal Crown, over the sunburst design of the Canadian coronation emblem. The date of the coronation is inscribed to the left of the cypher and the wordsVIVAT REX (Latin: Long Live The King) to its right.[5][8]
The medal's ribbon design is identical to the British coronation medal, using a dark blue, bright red, and white arrangement.[5][8]
The medal was awarded to 30,000 individuals, including 4,000 members of theCanadian Armed Forces and 1,000Public Service employees, including those in theDepartment of National Defence.[23][5] A further 1,300 were allocated to members of theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police.[24]
Partner organizations chosen by the government of Canada nominated and presented medals to individuals meeting the medal's eligibility criteria.[5] To be eligible for the Canadian medal, a person must:[5]
There was no requirement for the recipient to be a Canadian citizen.[24]
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau announced the coronation medal program on 3 May 2023 to honour Canadians who made significant contributions to the country, a province, territory, region, or community, or achieved abroad in a way that brought credit to Canada.[25][26] However, little update was provided for the rest of 2023 concerning the status of the medal program.[27][28][29]
Excerpting from aCBC News: Politics report, theMonarchist League of Canada claimed the delay in the medal program was due to two coinciding issues. First, there was a disagreement between the King and hisCanadian Cabinet over whether Queen Camilla's effigy should appear on the medal's obverse, with the Cabinet arguing against her inclusion due to her absence from theCanadian order of precedence and the Queen not having a constitutional role. Second, the resignation of the secretary to the governor general, whose office manages the medal program, contributed to the delay.[27]
The medal was eventually unveiled on 6 May 2024, on the first anniversary of the coronation. Governor GeneralMary Simon hosted a virtual ceremony to present the inaugural medals to lieutenant governors and territorial commissioners across Canada.[30] On the same day, some lieutenant governors and territorial commissioners also held presentations in their province or territory, which included the first military recipients of the medal.[8][31][32][33]
Some orders of precedence are as follows:
Text was copied from this source, which is available under anOpen Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
Media related toKing Charles III Coronation Medal at Wikimedia Commons
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