Prince William swears allegiance, gets a glimpse of his future

Prince William bowed, then knelt on the Gothic Westminster Abbey floor before kissing the right cheek of his father, the King.

Prince William kisses King Charles III inside Westminster Abbey. Picture: AFP

Prince William first bowed, then knelt on the Gothic Westminster Abbey floor before kissing the right cheek of his father, the King.

Charles looked downwards and mouthed a quiet, soothing “Well done” in one of the most poignant aspects of the coronation.

This was a very public nod to the next generation, and the Commonwealth witnessed a sudden glimmer of a time in coming decades when the Prince of Wales will be in this same spot receiving ­fealty from others.

This was a symbol of love between the 40-year-old prince and his father, as well as being a historic act that dates back more than 700 years.

William was the most prominent younger royal during Saturday’s grand crownings of 74-year-old Charles and 75-year-old Camilla.

As the heir, he is the most senior of all the princes, dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts and barons, and his promise during the coronation to be the King’s Liegeman of life and limb on their behalf is a vow of their allegiance and support to Charles, greater than obligations to any other person.

Prince William touches St Edward's Crown on the head of his father. Picture: AFP

“I, William, Prince of Wales,

pledge my loyalty to you

and faith and truth I will bear unto you,

as your liegeman of life and limb.

So help me God,” he said.

William’s family took centre stage as the rest of the next generation of royals were relegated to the wings in the third rows.

William’s younger brother the Duke of Sussex, now fifth in line to the throne and a non-working royal who flew in from California for the coronation service, didn’t have any official role after Charles changed the homage to be from William alone.

That neatly sidestepped any awkwardness of having Harry, 38, in front of a global television audience make such personal promises after heavily criticising the royal family, the institution of the monarchy and his stepmother, Queen Camilla.

Harry arrived in a convoy with his cousins princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and their husbands, wearing a suit and his military medals.

Upon entrance to the abbey, he received a small pat of reassurance on his back by Beatrice’s husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and he sat with them in the third row.

Harry exited stage right from the back of the abbey into a waiting car to go straight to the airport to return to Montecito, missing the big procession and balcony appearance by the royal family.

The other royal outsider, Charles’s brother Andrew, the Duke of York, very much took a back seat in the landmark proceedings, although he was allowed to wear the elaborate dress of the Order of the Garter.

Andrew’s former wife Sarah Ferguson, with whom he shares a residence, Royal Lodge, was not invited to the coronation, instead watching events from a television screen.

In coronations past, this moment of William’s fealty would have seen the aristocracy, many of whom were given English land by William the Conqueror as well as their knights, line up to pledge allegiance to the King, determining who to follow in war.

Instead, this 21st-century coronation was very much about projecting Charles’s most trustworthy and reliable royal relatives to the front. It was no surprise to see the usually shy Prince George, second in line to the throne, walk down the central spine of the abbey as one of the King’s page boys.

Dressed in a scarlet frock coat with gold trimmings over a white satin waistcoat, breeches and hose and wearing white gloves, black buckled shoes and a lace cravat and ruffles, George, nine, carefully helped carry his grandfather’s coronation robes as his mother, Catherine, the Princess of Wales and his younger siblings Princess Charlotte, seven, and five-year-old Prince Louis watched on.

The decision to allow George to take part in a ritual usually undertaken by teenagers was assessed by William and Kate, who determined it was important for him to understand some of the heavyweight responsibilities he has in the future, when he takes on the role of King.

The other pages, Lord Oliver Cholmondeley, 13, Nicholas Barclay, 13, and Ralph Tollemache, 12, were sons of Charles’s friends and being older and stronger were able to help George.

Charles could also rely on his sister, Anne, 72, the Princess Royal. She was his Gold-Stick-in-Waiting, leading the main bodyguard of military entrusted to keep him safe and following the King and Queen, both of whom rode in the 1762 7m-long gold state coach from the abbey to Buckingham Palace, on horseback in her military uniform as colonel of the Blues and Royals ahead of the procession of 6000 armed forces personnel, including a special contingent of 40 from Australia.