‘Homage of the People’: should public pledge allegiance to King?
Call for millions of citizens to take coronation-day oath to newly crowned monarch Charles

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Plans to update the coronation of King Charles III by including a new Homage of the People have triggered anger and mockery as the big day approaches.
During the historic ceremony on Saturday 6 May, millions of viewers worldwide will be invited to “cry out and swear allegiance” to the monarch, said ITV News, marking “the first time in history” that the public will play “an active role” in a coronation.
The Homage of the People will replace the traditional Homage of Peers, in which hereditary peers would pledge allegiance to the monarch in person. But while the change seems intended to “widen access and engagement” with the ceremony, said LBC, critics claim the “tone deaf” oath “holds the people in contempt”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
‘A very generous invitation’
According to The Sun, a “furious Palace row" erupted on Sunday after the office for the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, unveiled plans for millions of citizens to “pay homage” to King Charles during the coronation. Viewers will be invited to say in unison: “I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God."
The oath idea must have seemed like “an easy win for inclusivity and modernity”, said The Daily Beast’s Royalist correspondent Tom Sykes. But “it seems no one thought to check with the people first”, and “turns out they aren’t so keen”.
In an online poll for ITV’s Good Morning Britain, 86.5% of more than 164,000 respondents said they would not participate.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told Sky News that the pledge was “an invitation, a very generous invitation, to expand what has traditionally been quite an exclusive function”.
“If you want to do it, and I will, great. If you don’t want to do it, fine,” he added.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that he “hopes people do” swear the proposed oath. Labour elections campaign chief Shabana Mahmood also welcomed the “lovely idea to involve the people”.
But other politicians were “more sceptical”, said The Guardian’s Whitehall editor Rowena Mason.
‘Offensive and tone-deaf’
Labour MP Clive Lewis told The Guardian that the oath would be “unwelcome or ignored by many”. He added: “As Jesus is said to have said: ‘Give unto Caesar what is his.’ And this ain’t it.”
Anti-monarchist organisation Republic claimed the oath was “an offensive and tone-deaf gesture that holds the people in contempt”.
Both Buckingham Palace and Lambeth Palace were “clearly taken aback” by the “strength of feeling” about what was meant to be a “well-meant rallying cry” for the nation, said the Daily Mail. According to the paper, many felt that the Archbishop of Canterbury’s call had “played into the hands of Republicans and critics of the ceremony generally”.
A senior source told The Sun that the spiritual leader had “gone off-piste on this one”. Palace officials issued a clarification yesterday about the oath, which was an “invitation” for people to vocally offer their “true allegiance” to the monarch rather than an “expectation or request”.
But senior aides fear the controversy is “casting a cloud over the celebrations” said the newspaper.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.
-
Can HS2 get back on track?
Today's Big Question West Midlands mayor offers business solution to keep northern leg but final decision may rest with Labour
By The Week Staff Published
-
'A purported ban on phones in schools is a lazy sleight of hand'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week Staff Published
-
The daily business briefing: October 3, 2023
Business Briefing Tesla sales slip despite price cuts, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testifies in Google antitrust trial, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
What would the UK be like without a monarchy?
Today's Big Question The British public still broadly favours the royals but support is waning among younger people
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet Published
-
Meghan and Harry: the end of their $20m Spotify deal
Talking Point The axing of Archetypes isn’t just about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex
By The Week Staff Published
-
Prince Harry and Meghan: ‘near catastrophic car chase’ in the spotlight
Talking Point Brush with US paparazzi has echoes of Princess Diana but some have questioned the timing
By Jamie Timson Published
-
Pros and cons of British colonial reparations
feature Should the U.K. be forced to pay for its historic subjugations?
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Coronation protests: did the Met overreact?
Talking Point 52 arrests were a ‘direct attack on freedom of speech’ said some commentators
By The Week Staff Published
-
The highlights and lowlights from King’s coronation weekend
feature Music, mischief and Penny Mordaunt widely praised, while Met Police arresting protesters provokes criticism
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
Coronation countdown: a ‘tightrope’ for the royal family
Under the Radar Monarchy to balance celebration with awareness of the complex relationship between British subjects and their ruler
By The Week Staff Published
-
The ‘diplomat monarch’: will King’s coronation revitalise British soft power?
Today's Big Question Supporters say Charles is foreign relations asset but others question whether the newly crowned monarch can boost the UK’s influence
By Harriet Marsden Published