Music, mischief and Penny Mordaunt widely praised, while Met Police arresting protesters provokes criticism
The coronation of King Charles III took place to both fanfare and controversy on Saturday, battling high expectations and appalling weather to please the maximum number of subjects.
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More than 20 million people in the UK tuned in to watch the ceremony on TV, according to CNN, and tens of thousands braved the rain to stand outside and see the newly crowned King appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Any national event with such pomp and ceremony will undoubtedly mean some mixed opinions. The Week takes a look at a few of the most cited highlights and lowlights over the weekend.
Highlight: Penny Mordaunt
The leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, became an unexpected star of the coronation after her performance as Lord President of the Council, the first woman ever to hold the role.
The former defence secretary and Conservative Party leadership candidate carried the “sword of state”, a 17th-century four-foot ceremonial weapon weighing eight pounds, according to Politico. She then exchanged it for the “sword of offering”, decorated with diamonds, emeralds and rubies.
Many commented in awe at the stamina of Mordaunt, 50, as she carried the heavy sword upright in front of her for a significant period of time. “I’ve been doing some press-ups to train for that,” she told Times Radio. “We get to practise with some replicas which are weighted,” she added, saying that her military training had helped.
It was “one of the most spectacular consolation prizes of all time”, said Politico. Mordaunt was effectively sidelined from the great offices of state by former prime minister Liz Truss after losing to her in the race to become Tory leader.
Mordaunt wore a widely praised, custom-made teal dress and headband embroidered with the gold fern motif of the Privy Council, rather than the standard black-and-gold court dress. “Penny Mordaunt looks damn fine!” Labour MP Emily Thornberry tweeted. “The sword bearer steals the show.”
“Penny Mordaunt’s sword is the ‘Pippa Middleton’s Bum’ of the coronation,’”, journalist Caitlin Moran said.
Lowlight: police arrests
“UK human rights groups have accused police of attacking civil liberties,” said the Financial Times, after the Metropolitan Police arrested 64 people, mainly “to prevent disruption” of the coronation.
The Met confirmed that 52 of the arrests “related to concerns people were going to disrupt the event, and arrests included to prevent a breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance”.
The government had “pushed through new powers to prevent protests just days before the coronation”, added the Financial Times. The Public Order Act makes “certain types of disruptive protest a criminal offence” and gives police “the right to intervene to stop protests before they happen”, the paper added.
Six members of the anti-monarchy group Republic were arrested. “There is no longer a right to peaceful protest in the UK,” its chief executive Graham Smith tweeted.
“We regret that those six people arrested were unable to join the wider group of protesters in Trafalgar Square and elsewhere on the procession route,” the Met said last night. Bail for the six has since been cancelled and no further action will be taken.
Among those arrested were three volunteers from Westminster Council’s safety team, who were handing out rape alarms to women. Mic Wright, a journalist who spoke with the volunteers, wrote on Twitter: “The Met arrested members of the City of Westminster’s Night Safety team. They are volunteers. They were pulled last night at 2am and have been held for 14 hours. One of them came out of the station in tears. Police didn’t apologise.”
The Met said there was intelligence that some groups had planned to disrupt the procession with rape alarms. The three volunteers have since been given police bail.
Highlight: music
The coronation was “a magnificent celebration of choral, orchestral and liturgical music-making”, said Classic FM.
The line-up featured pieces by Handel, Bach, Holst, Vaughan Williams and William Byrd, among others, new musical compositions based on the King’s favourite hymn, solo performances from Pretty Yende and Roderick Williams, and a coronation anthem written by Andrew Lloyd Webber: “Make a Joyful Noise”.
In a “historic first”, the entire coronation was recorded and released as an album on Saturday.
“Music was almost constantly present,” said The Guardian, “treated as peripheral until it was needed to deliver on the grandest scale.”
Lowlight: weather
“The crowning of Charles III in relentless rain followed a long tradition of wretched weather on coronation days that goes back centuries,” said The Times.
The weather was so bad that the planned military flypast over Buckingham Palace had to be scaled back.
Charles “remained upbeat about the weather”, said the Daily Mirror. “I hope you don’t all get soaked,” he had reportedly told campers on The Mall on Friday. “Rain is a blessing… except for your camera!”
“Royalty. Regalia. Rain. It’s what Britain does best,” said The Daily Telegraph. The London crowds “flatly refused to let the weather dampen the celebratory mood”, it said, “with good humour, stoicism, and a phalanx of sturdy umbrellas”.
Highlight: Prince Louis’ facial expressions
“Prince Louis may be known for his reputation of show stealing balcony antics at royal events,” said the Daily Mail, “and today was no different for the little royal.”
The third child of the Prince and Princess of Wales “couldn’t contain his excitement at Buckingham Palace as he gestured into the crowd”.
The five-year-old joined a number of other working royals on the balcony, with an enthusiastic double “jazz hand” wave. He was also filmed yawning during the ceremony.
“What a cheeky little chap Prince Louis is, made me chuckle,” one spectator tweeted.
Lowlight: Mistimed carriage arrivals
The Diamond Jubilee State Coach, carrying King Charles and Queen Camilla, arrived at Westminster Abbey five minutes early. The two then had to wait in the carriage while the coach carrying the Prince and Princess of Wales caught up.
The king was seen on camera speaking to Camilla, with a seemingly disgruntled expression. A lip reader told Sky News that they believed he said: “We can never be on time. There’s always something… this is boring.”
