Representatives of the 14 member towns of the Confederation of Cinque Ports are being invited to attend the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, May 6.
The confederation is chaired by its speaker, one of the mayors of the Cinque Ports; this honour passes between the towns by rotation every year. The current speaker is Cllr Jim Martin, mayor of Hythe, who said: “The Cinque Ports date back 1,000 years, and our history is enshrined in the history of this country. The confederation is a unique association of maritime towns and villages in Kent and East Sussex. In the centuries before the Tudor kings of England first developed a navy, the ‘men and ships’ of the Cinque Ports provided a fleet to meet the military and transport needs of their royal masters. These small ports – many no longer operational, but still fiercely proud of their traditions, have been called the cradle of the Royal Navy.
“In the past the Barons of the Cinque Ports had the right to hold a canopy above a new monarch at their coronation, although this has not been done since the coronation of King George IV. The title of baron is solely honorary in nature. I am absolutely delighted that the tradition of Cinque Ports barons attending a coronation will continue, and that 14 ‘barons’ – actually representatives of the 14 members of the Confederation of Cinque Ports, in most cases the mayors – are being invited to the coronation of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen Consort at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6."
Mayor of Rye, Cllr Andi Rivett, will be attending along with the 13 other barons, and said: "I was absolutely thrilled to hear that this tradition would be upheld and that representatives of our Cinque Ports are able to attend the coronation, a once in a lifetime event. It truly is the greatest privilege of my life to be there, and a memory I know I will never forget. I am most grateful to my colleagues for proposing that the mayor of Rye should represent our town."
