King Charles III was crowned Britain’s 40th reigning monarch since 1066 alongside Camilla, the Queen Consort, at Westminster Abbey in London .
The King opted for a smaller, shorter and more diverse ceremony than the previous coronation held for his mother in 1953. This decision led to some people with Nigerian roots playing significant roles during the King’s coronation.
On a day of splendour and formality, featuring customs dating back more than 1,000 years, here are six Nigerians who took part in King Charles’s coronation.
Dame Elizabeth Anionwu
Dame Elizabeth Anionwu was part of the Royal procession at King Charles’s coronation. She was charged with the responsibility of carrying the Sovereignty Orb during the procession. The Orb symbolises both the state and the Church under the protection and the domain of the monarch.
In 1979, the daughter of Lawrence Anionwu of Onitsha, became the United Kingdom’s first sickle-cell and thalassemia nurse specialist, helping establish the Brent Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Counselling centre. She holds the Order of Merit, was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
Eva omaghomi
Eva Omaghomi, British-Nigerian cultural anthropologist, was the Director of Community Engagement to King Charles III and Queen Camilla, and was considered by many on social media one of the best dressed females at the King’s coronation.
Read also: From Ben Enwonwu to Tiwa Savage: Nigerian artistes and British royalty
She served as Senior Strategic Advisor to The Prince’s Trust Global Group, managing global communications for over 50 countries, and receiving the Kindness in Leadership Award. She was also recognized as one of the “15 Ones to Watch” by New African Woman magazine and in 2017, was invested as a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) by Her Majesty The Queen.
Sir Kenneth Aphunezi Olisa
Sir Kenneth Aphunezi Olisa was appointed the High Bailiff of the sanctuary of Westminster Abbey in 2021, and took part of the King’s coronation in that role. He is the first mixed heritage Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London and founded the AIM-listed technology merchant bank Interregnum and now leads Restoration Partners.
Olisa was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2010 Birthday Honours for services to homeless people in London, a Commander of the Order of St John in 2017 and a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to business and philanthropy.
Rev Tosin Oladipo
Rev Tosin Oladipo was appointed the chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury in May 2021. He was responsible for carrying the staff of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at King Charles’s coronation.
He is responsible for developing Archbishop Justin’s priority of prayer and the religious life, particularly through the community of St Anselm. Tosin has previously served as part of the leadership team at ‘SAINT’, a resource church in East London, with specific responsibility for outreach, prayer, and the development of interns and ordinands.
He has overseen community engagement and the revitalisation of St Mary’s Leyton, as part of a partnership between Chelmsford and London dioceses. He was also responsible for the work of the Lighthouse project, which has distributed over 300,000 meals to less privileged people since the start of the pandemic.
Ade Adelekan
Ade Adelekan is the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police who led the operation, known as Golden Orb at the King’s coronation at Westminster Abbey. The operation, which was one of the most significant and largest security deployments the force has led, had more than 29,000 police officers deployed during the coronation period.
Read also: If you are a Nigerian, this are the 14 things you missed at King Charles III’s coronation
The use of facial recognition technology during the event was heavily criticised and seen as oppressive by human rights group ‘Liberty’. Campaign manager Emmanuelle Andrews said ‘Facial recognition’ is a dystopian tool that violates rights and threatens the people’s liberty.
Tiwa Savage
Nigerian music star Tiwa Savage made history Sunday evening when she performed at the coronation concert of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle in England.
It was the first time a Nigerian artiste would perform at the royal coronation. Tiwa, thrilling over 20,000 people at the event and over 18 million global online viewers rendered ‘Keys to the Kingdom’, a song she recorded with Mr Eazi and featured on Beyoncé’s album “The Lion King’’ released in July 2019.
