King Charles III Coronation Medal

The King Charles III Coronation Medal is a commemorative medal created to mark the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6 May 2023.

Design
The medals are made of nickel silver. The obverse features a crowned effigy of the King and Queen facing left.

The reverse shows the Royal Cypher surmounted by the Tudor Crown, a laurel wreath and the date of the coronation, 6 May 2023.

The medals were issued by Worcestershire Medal Service, with the effigy on the obverse face modelled by Martin Jennings. The reverse was designed by Phil McDermott of the Worcestershire Medal Service.

Eligibility
In the United Kingdom, those who received the medal were:
 * Individuals who actively contributed to the official Coronation events in Westminster Abbey and processions, and other officially recognised ceremonial Coronation events.
 * Serving members of the Armed Forces who had completed five full calendar years of service on 6 May 2023 or participated in Armed Forces Coronation events during the course of 2023.
 * Frontline emergency personnel who had been in paid service, retained or in a voluntary capacity, dealing with emergencies as part of their conditions of service, and who had completed five full calendar years of service on 6 May 2023;
 * Publicly employed prison services personnel who had completed five full calendar years of service on 6 May 2023.
 * Living individual recipients of the George Cross and of the Victoria Cross.

More than 400,000 medals were awarded.

Canada


The King Charles III Coronation Medal is the first Canadian commemorative medal to mark a coronation. It was designed by Cathy Bursey-Sabourin, Fraser Herald at the Canadian Heraldic Authority at the Chancellery of Honours, Rideau Hall, and is manufactured by the Royal Canadian Mint.

The Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (OSGG) is responsible for administering the Coronation Medal on behalf of the government of Canada. The medal will be awarded to 30,000 individuals. Nominations from the general public are not accepted, and partner organizations chosen by the government of Canada will nominate and present medals to individuals who meet the medal's eligibility criteria.

Of the 30,000 medals, 4,000 will recognise members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and 1,000 medals are reserved for Government of Canada public service employees, including those in the Department of National Defence.

Design
The medal is silver in colour, 32 mm in diameter, and with a ring suspension. 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").

The reverse shows the Royal Cypher surmounted by the Canadian Royal Crown, over the sunburst design of the Canadian Coronation emblem. The date of the Coronation 6.V.2023 is inscribed to the left of the cypher, and the words VIVAT REX (Latin: Long Live The King) on the right side.

The medal's ribbon design uses an arrangement of dark blue, bright red and white, which is identical to the British Coronation Medal ribbon and is inspired by the King Edward VII Coronation Medal ribbon from 1902, which was the first Coronation Medal suspended from a ribbon.

Eligibility
To be eligible for the Canadian medal, a person must:


 * have made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region of, or community in, Canada, or attained an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada; and
 * have been alive on 6 May 2023, the date of the Coronation.

History
The Canadian Heritage Mint (a private company) created and sold coronation medallions designed by Susan Taylor, a former senior engraver at the Royal Canadian Mint, and approved by Charles III.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on 3 May 2023 that 30,000 coronation medals would be produced 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. No updates on the Canadian medal, as well as any clarification on who the program partners will be, were released by the government in 2023. Excerpting from a CBC News: Politics report, the Monarchist League of Canada claimed the delay had been caused by two coinciding matters: disagreement between the King and his Cabinet over the inclusion of Queen Camilla's effigy on the medal's obverse (the ministers arguing the Queen should be excluded, as she is not part of the Order of Precedence and does not have a constitutional role) and the resignation of the Governor General's private secretary, an office that plays a significant part in the creation of honours.

On 6 May 2024, the first anniversary of the Coronation, the Government of Canada unveiled the King Charles III's Coronation Medal for Canada. The Governor General, Mary Simon, hosted a virtual ceremony to present the inaugural awards of Coronation Medals to lieutenant governors and territorial commissioners across the country. On the same day, some lieutenant governors and territorial commissioners also held inaugural presentations in their province or territory, which included the first military recipients.

Australia
In Australia coronation and jubilee medals are administered by the United Kingdom, and are awarded as a personal gift of the Sovereign. Living Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross, Victoria Cross for Australia, George Cross and Cross of Valour received the medals in line with the eligibility issued by the United Kingdom.