A scroll for the king, a website for the people: Coronation document to be released digitally

LONDON — It is a record fit for a king, but it’s going online for everyone to see. King Charles III gaped at the 70-foot-long hand-lettered scroll as it was presented to him earlier this week at Buckingham Palace, thanking the artisans who produced the document that serves as the official record of his coronation almost a year ago. “Thank you very much,’’ Charles told heraldic artist Tim Noad and calligrapher Stephanie Gill, who worked on the project for 56 days straight. “I cannot tell you how grateful I am.” The scroll, which consists of 56 pages stitched together by hand and contains about 11,600 words, is the first to be printed on paper, rather than vellum, reflecting the king’s views on animal welfare. “So the new roll is kind of the final version of this, in that it takes elements of those earlier allegiances, oaths and homages and incorporates a kind of narrative story of what happened on the day.” When the document was unrolled for the king to inspect on Wednesday, Queen Camilla peered at it and said: “Goodness me, I won’t attempt to read it without my specs.” Charles, who noted that past rolls were written in Latin and French, replied: “At least it’s in English.” ___ www.coronationroll.gov.uk