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Lord Indarjit Singh: Meet Sikh peer with key role at King Charles' coronation
Lord Indarjit Singh will be part of a procession of peers who walk up to the altar before handing over the Coronation Glove.
Lord Indarjit Singh is the British Sikh peer who will hand over a key item of the regalia to King Charles III during his coronation at Westminster Abbey in London as the ceremony aims to strike a multi-faith note despite being a traditionally Christian ceremony. The 90-year-old peer will be part of a procession of peers who walk up to the altar before handing over the Coronation Glove.
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“It's a great honour for myself, but much more for the wider Sikh community, in this country, in India and further afield wherever Sikhs are across the globe. It's a recognition of the King's view of inclusivity,” Lord Indarjit Singh said.
He will be joined by Lord Syed Kamall of Indo-Guyanese heritage, who will represent the Muslim faith and Lord Narendra Babubhai Patel who will represent the Hindu faith.
“It is something like the story of the three kings [from the Bible], now it's been inflated by faith inflation to four people bearing gifts. As far as the procession goes, that is fairly usual and normal. It's always there on a Commonwealth Day service. The unusual element is the presentation of the gifts, that we go in turn to the King who is seated on a throne on a platform and offer him – in my case, it will be the Coronation Glove,” Lord Indarjit Singh explained.
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“I have known King Charles for many years, we met on many occasions, seminars, presentations, and I admire the work he is doing against global warming, care of the environment and so on. But I admire his attitude to religion even more,” he added.
Appreciating King Charles, Lord Indarjit Singh said, “The aim of religion as I see it, and I believe he sees it, is to move society towards the good, the better end of the spectrum. And, in all the discussions I've had with him, he totally agrees with that concept."
