The holy oil that will be used to anoint King Charles III at his Coronation has been made from olives grown at the final resting place of his beloved grandmother, Princess Alice.
The olives have been harvested from a grove growing at the Monastery of St. Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem where Princess Alice is buried. Olives grown at the Monastery of the Ascension in Jerusalem have also been used.
Princess Alice asked to be buried in Jerusalem. When she died at Buckingham Palace in 1969, she was initially laid to rest in the crypt beneath St. George’s Chapel, Windsor but her remains were taken to Jerusalem in 1988 when she was buried at the Monastery of St. Mary Magdalene.
Princess Alice had long links with Jerusalem. She founded a nursing order of Greek Orthodox nuns inspired by the work of her aunt, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna who was buried at St. Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem several years after she was murdered in the Russian Revolution. Elizabeth had set up her own religious order in 1909.
In 1994, Princess Alice was recognised as Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem for protecting Rachel Cohen and two of her children during the Nazi occupation of Greece and helping save them. Her son, Prince Philip, was present to see his mother recognised.
Now, olives grown at the Monastery have been made into the chrism oil that will be used to anoint King Charles and Queen Camilla at their Coronation. It will be used by the Archbishop of Canterbury to make a cross on their heads, hands and hearts in one of the most sacred parts of the service.
The oil was consecrated in Jerusalem on March 3rd 2023 by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, and the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, The Most Reverend Hosam Naoum.
The Archbishop of Canterbury said ”Since beginning the planning for the Coronation, my desire has been for a new Coronation Oil to be produced using olive oil from the Mount of Olives. This demonstrates the deep historic link between the Coronation, the Bible and the Holy Land. From ancient kings through to the present day, monarchs have been anointed with oil from this sacred place. As we prepare to anoint The King and The Queen Consort, I pray that they would be guided and strengthened by the Holy Spirit.”
