How we’re planning coverage fit for a king

We have spent some time this week discussing just how much attention to give two big events: the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday and the federal budget next Tuesday. Both are significant occasions, although the crowning of a monarch is a rare occurrence, as opposed to the annual political theatre of the delivery of our national accounts.

Tomorrow evening Australian time, the Archbishop of Canterbury will gingerly place the St Edward’s Crown on the head of King Charles III in Westminster Abbey.

This is a huge moment for Britain, Australia and many other places around the world. But I think it’s pertinent to look at how the role of royalty, its relevance and its popularity have fared since the last coronation of a British monarch, the crowning of Queen Elizabeth in 1953. Back then, Australia was a much more “colonial” nation, we were less multicultural and more in thrall to notions of empire.

Australia as a nation is in a very different space today and the importance of the royal family has diminished. To be fair, even the House of Windsor seems to recognise this, cutting back on both the length and extravagance of tomorrow’s spectacle. If you want to know all the details of what will happen and what time things will unfold, read this entertaining preview.

So how much coverage should the Herald give this event? This is the tricky question our leadership team have debated in the build up to this weekend’s ceremony. While we will always get one or two people who call for us to ignore it completely, realistically that is never going to happen. More interesting is the question of just how much attention we give it. Do we throw the entire resources of our newsroom into it, as the Herald would have done in the past, temporarily pushing aside our coverage of other important national events? For many Australians, the royal family holds an important emotional place in their lives, embodying values of history, service and continuity. For others, it is a colonial anachronism that is losing relevance.

So given all this, we will try to strike a balance to keep you informed, entertained and, hopefully, a little surprised and challenged about the events of the weekend. But we will not go over the top with fawning, blanket coverage.

The ceremony will be covered live online via our coronation blog, helmed by London-based Latika Bourke, who brings a unique style and energy to this type of reporting. Europe correspondent Rob Harris, who last year wrote so eloquently about the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth, will lead our news and analysis, aided by culture writer Michael Idato. We will also keep an eye on the fashion, how Prince Harry is treated and what’s happening here in Sydney. The Herald is lucky to have some of the best writers in the business who will bring you all the fascinating detail of this historic event and report on how it is received, in Australia, Britain and around the world.

On a slightly less grandiose scale but of much more importance to your hip pocket, next Tuesday brings the second budget for the Albanese government, back to its traditional timing of the second Tuesday in May. With the economy teetering on the brink of recession, cost of living concerns at the front of most people’s minds and the thorny issue of house prices looming large, this budget will be a crucial focal point for our economic future.