Ceremonial

The Coronation of HM King Charles III 

Of course I didn't actually venture down to London for this yesterday, merely watched all the ceremonial from the comfort of my armchair. Much more sensible... I had a better view and it wasn't raining! I tried taking a few photos of the TV screen, which I reproduce here as a memento of an historic day. (Perhaps because of the light, it was hard to avoid that horrid moiré effect but never mind.) 

It was, as I said yesterday, my second experience of a coronation but I will remember it this time! I'm not sure that I found it all that involving, apart from a few key moments. Certainly it wasn't as moving for me as the late Queen's funeral. As always, however, we Brits do 'ceremony' very well indeed and it looked immaculate to me. 

The King's Procession out towards Westminster Abbey saw the new King and Queen travelling in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, the newest (and most comfortable) coach, made in Australia. It contains pieces of all sorts of historic artefacts - the Tudor warship The Mary Rose, Isaac Newton's apple tree and HMS Victory among them. 

The royal regalia is both breathtaking and historic, each piece having a colossal history and significance - orbs, sceptres, sashes, gloves, girdles, swords, bracelets, rings and of course those massive crowns all played their part in the Coronation service. The crown on the left is that for Queen Camilla, originally made for Queen Mary in 1911. It has been adapted to include some diamonds from the late Queen Elizabeth's collection. The King was crowned with the very heavy St Edward's Crown, made in 1661 for Charles II and used at the moment of coronation for every monarch since then. He later changed to the relatively more comfortable Imperial State Crown, made in 1937 (as seen in my first photo). 

The service itself was based on ancient rituals going back to the ninth century, and modified and adapted for coronations ever since. This 21st century version had some significant changes to make it more relevant to our modern world. Shorter than Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953, it involved female bishops for the first time, as well as having notable roles for people from a wide range of different faiths and backgrounds. It was, however, still firmly an Anglican service, where the King had to promise to maintain the Protestant faith in the UK. (We are apparently still fearful that someone might turn us all back into Catholics - a division going back of course to Henry VIII's shenanigans in the 1500s.) Much of the music was wonderful (albeit I can't hear it too well). 'I was Glad' by Hubert Parry, Handel's 'Zadok the Priest' and Elgar's March 'Pomp and Circumstance' no 4 are particular favourites. Some of the music had been written especially for the occasion. There was also a wonderful little bit where Roderick Williams sang Henry Walford Davies' 'Confortare: Be strong and show thy worth' - spine-tingling. Full details of the service can be found HERE. 

After the service came the Coronation Procession back to Buckingham Palace, a massive affair involving Armed Forces from the Commonwealth and Overseas Territories and all the UK armed services (Army, Navy and RAF) as well as The Sovereign's Bodyguard and Royal Watermen. There were over 4000 service personnel in the procession, in addition to those lining the route and providing gun salutes across the country. 

I always love to see The Mounties, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - so smart.  

The Coronation Procession used the Gold State Coach, 260 years old and used in every coronation since 1831. Apparently it rolls and pitches so much that its occupants can feel seasick, so no doubt Charles and Camilla were glad to reach the end of their journey back at the Palace.  

The Prince and Princess of Wales with their young family, and other members of the royal family were also conveyed in coaches in the procession.  

It was a magnificent spectacle, despite the drizzle. Following a lovely ceremony on the lawn at Buckingham Palace, when the King and Queen were cheered by the Forces personnel involved in the procession, the family then appeared, as is traditional, on the Palace balcony to wave to the crowds and watch an RAF fly-past, much reduced by the bad weather but including helicopters and the renowned Red Arrows display team. I love that bit. My sister lives right near their base in Lincolnshire so she texted me to say they'd flown over her house on the way! 

I was much amused by a comment I saw somewhere that said: ‘The way I see it, Monarchy is like a middling category drug habit…The Dutch and Scandinavians can just about handle it and still function. The English in particular very rapidly get stoned out of their minds and experience all manner of things…'

Well, I guess if you really want to examine it, it is all slightly bizarre in this day and age. Nevertheless, I had a happy day, only slightly stoned!