Longford's Christ Church holds coronation service for Charles III

"We pray for those in government on a regular basis and that includes the queen or the king," said Reverend James Gannon.

"It's a very important, significant time not only for the United Kingdom but also for the Commonwealth," he said.

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The coronation ceremony has a lot of Christian symbolism and during the ceremony, King Charles will pledge to be Head of the Church of England.

As Monarch and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, King Charles holds the title of Defender of the Faith.

However, King Charles has also previously said that he would prefer to be a "defender of faith" rather than "Defender of the Faith."

Additionally, the coronation ceremony featured representatives from different faith communities in the United Kingdom.

Reverend Gannon said that he was keen to see all people respected and valued for what they believe but would want to uphold and encourage King Charles in the oath he makes during the ceremony to be "Defender of the Faith."

Reverend Gannon's sermon made reference to the Biblical servant king.

"True kingship comes from having compassion and mercy and serving the very people you're called to lead," he said.

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Reverend Gonnon said Queen Elizabeth worked very hard to encompass that and to serve her subjects throughout the Commonwealth.

He said they would be praying that he takes a leaf out of his mother's book.

The congregation sang "God Save the King" and the service was followed by the planting of an English Oak in the Church cemetery.

Reverend Gannon, who formerly lived in England, said that some English parishes would plant an English Oak or a row of English oaks to commemorate a coronation.

The churchyard in Longford is already full of English trees such as oaks and elms.

The congregation followed the same tradition at the Queen's death in 2022.

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"When Prince William's time comes, we'll do the same for him," Reverend Gannon said.

While the Queen had not visited Christ Church she had visited Longford and Cressy a couple of times, Reverend Gannon said.

Glenys Joyes, a member of the congregation, said that her son Richard would be present at the coronation as a recipient of the Cross of Valour.

Richard Joyes was awarded the Cross of Valour for his efforts to rescue people during the 2002 Bali bombings and will be marching into the cathedral with the chivalry procession.

Senator Wendy Askew, who was present, said she was very happy to participate at the service and to commemorate the coronation in a special way.

"The monarchy is very important to me and I believe that it's important that we, as a part of the Commonwealth, continue to honour that tradition," she said.

Jordan Gunton, a member of the Australian Monarchist League and Ms Askew's chief of staff said the coronation was an exciting time for all Australians and all Commonwealth citizens.

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Mr Gunton said that he was most looking forward to the pomp and ceremony of the coronation.

He'll be watching the event with his family and will have a whiskey in honour of the King.

This year, the public and those watching around the world will be invited to pledge their allegiance to Charles III.

As a former member of the Australian Defence Force, Mr Gunton said that he had previously pledged allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II and would do the same again privately to King Charles.

Mr Gunton said that he supported the monarchy as "it's been a solid foundation for Australia since Federation" and hoped that it would continue.

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