Before Westminster Abbey opens its doors on Saturday, what better way to get in the spirit than to explore the storied history of coronations in the movies? The sheer spectacle of a monarch’s formal coronation has an inherently cinematic aspect – and it’s one that motion pictures have long exploited. Here are ten films to savour before the event:
The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King (2003) – NOW, Amazon Rent/Buy
Impressive as King Charles III’s coronation is sure to be, it’s unlikely to match the crowning of Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) as King Elessar in the final instalment of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. After all, Aragorn has an actual wizard (Ian McKellen’s Gandalf) place the Númenórean-style diadem on his head; Elvish girlfriend Arwen (Liv Tyler) turns up; he humbly thanks the brave little Hobbits (by taking the knee); and then he assumes the throne as 26th King of Arnor, 35th King of Gondor and the first High King of the Reunited Kingdom, all to the rousing cheers of the massed populace of stately Minas Tirith.
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