The Coronation of Charles 111

maddyone

The outfits were a feast for the eye Whitewave weren’t they? I thought Zara Tindall looked lovely, as did Beatrice. Eugenie not so much but she is pregnant. Rishi Sunak’s wife was looking gorgeous too. Lots of people said Theresa May looked really nice but I haven’t managed to see a picture of her.

As soon as I saw Eugenie I thought ‘ooh, she looks a lot like me today’.

But I’m not pregnant 🤦‍♀️

Clawdy

I'm obviously the only one on here who can't stand Penny Mordaunt!!

no you aren;t

I found the whole thing uncomfortble viewing (not that I saw all of it) and so old fashioned but it was a relief that the roads were empty as I had to travel a lot yesterday

Calendargirl

Dickens

Yes, I know what you mean about Charles looking old and frail, not helped by being ‘undressed’ and ‘dressed’ by others, although according to the media, his valet does all that for him in everyday life.

And yes, no matter how long he lives or his health conditions, he will always have the best doctors, and the best care available.

It’s not fair, I know, but it’s life. There will always be wealthy people who can pay for things in life that others can’t.

It’s not fair, I know, but it’s life.

That's the problem - for me. The total acceptance that this is the way it has to be because "that's life".

I don't accept it. Because it could be so much better. Everyone should be able to live out their lives with a little basic dignity, care and comfort. If those with more wealth can buy themselves extra luxury, so be it... but no old person should be rotting in a second-rate care home.

I agree Dickens.

eazybee

What a pity.
Such a pleasant thread yesterday.

... OK.

I didn't post yesterday so as not to spoil the day / thread.

But I'll pipe down now and say no more. I'm sure the thread will recover quite quickly.

The thread doesn't have to divide us, we can all contribute. Something reminded me of what King Charles said yesterday.. "go gently with each other."
And this thread is a pleasant example.

I was surprised to see Liz Truss wearing my dress from Karen Millen!

PoW wore the same dress in yellow or mustard (?) a year or so ago.

Loads of great outfits I thought, but oh dear! The wife of the new Scottish FM looked like something from GOT in her get up.
Kate looked gorgeous, so beautiful.
The whole coronation was magnificent and a shout out for whoever organised most of it, Duke Of Norfolk? Also for the police.

Iam64

Catching up - I was so engrossed in the coronation on tv, with four dog walks fitted in, I didn’t have time to read this happy thread.
I enjoyed every minute. The music was wonderful, the commitment of the king and queen to their roles unmistakable. Louis disappearing mid ceremony was the kind of sensible planning parents do.
Penny Mordant ‘s politics aren’t mine but she was magnificent. The question is, why did those old tories vote Liz Truss over Penny?
The matching bands, the way the horses were managed whilst their riders played instruments - well, astonishing skill. A bonkers, glorious, totally British event.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Dickens, I welcomed your posts. If we can’t debate this huge historical event there’s no hope for us. The New York Times has bern running articles in the state of the UK. The suggestion is we are in transition from a country yearning to be the kind of world power/player we were with the biggest empire, to our current , post Brexit mess.

The coronation confirms we still do pomp and ceremony well. My view is the King tried to reflect our more diverse culture, with many faiths and none central to our lives. Dickens is correct, the King will never wait for health treatment, his health needs will be monitored, he won’t wait as we do, months to be seen by a consultant, or even by our own GP.

I caught up yesterday afternoon. The silly thing is the programming cut off for 'emergent breaking news' about a forest fire in Alberta, and evacuations. Granted, it was important, but it went on for half an hour with the same people taking over and over. I missed the procession from the cathedral back to the palace! That was the part I was really interested in; seeing the carriage, I heard the RCMP were involved... grrr.

Anyway, it did cut back to the coverage when they reached the palace, and I saw the crowd be allowed in from the mall around the fountain or statue, and close to the palace. What a lot of people! And of course I did see the wave from the balcony. It was nice to see, and the first time I really saw them smile.

I'm not really a monarchist, but enjoy the tradition and pomp of the ceremony. I did respect the late Queen, and hope that her legacy of service to her country and the people lives on in her son during his reign.

As, Oreo says, the organiser of the Coronation, as with everything else, of this nature is always the Duke of Norfolk, whoever he may be at the time.

I have often wondered what would happen if any particular Duke of Norfolk was a total incompetent who couldn't organise a p*ss up in a pub? Would he just be mounted on a stick as a figure head, while someone else did the organising, but what if he kept interfering, what wouls they do?

This must apply to all these inherited roles, but most of them are purely ceremonial and merely require turning up on time and wearing a costume, but the Duke of Norfolk's role is substantial and critical, so what happens if he is a muff.

As with most of these aristocrats, it's who you know, not what you know. The Duke of Norfolk can afford to call upon the very best to organise the most elegant and the most spectacular show in town.
He is actually a former formula 1 racing driver so I'm guessing his precision and timing is second to none. Maybe Lewis Hamilton will get the job next time round?!

Bits of the Coronation Concert were okay but I thought it odd that there was no mention of Queen Camilla. The views of the Royal Box were intriguing… were the Royal couple less than engaged with some of the acts? A desultory wave with a flag rather than applauding… although Kermit and Miss Piggy seemed to please.
I don’t think the Duke of Norfolk was involved with the concert. Impossible to do everything!

It's interesting, too, that the Duke of Norfolk is a Roman Catholic.

The Dukes of Norfolk maintained their Roman Catholic faith when Henry VIII broke away from Rome.

Bizziebe The Duke of Norfolk arranges all major royal events because he holds the inherited title of 'Earl Marshall', so any knowing of people was done many generations ago, this is why I am curious

Most of these titles and associated roles are purely honorary and nowadays amount to nothing much beyond wearing a fancy coat and turning up at ceremonies, but the Earl Marshal's role includes the organisation of royal events and is handed down from Duke of Norfolk to Duke of Norfolk, father to son.

Obviously arranging events like this, there is an organisation behind everything with permanent employees who do everything, but still, you need a good leader at the top, and i just wondered what would happen in a DofN, was not only incompetent, but interfering

maybe he has to sign a code of conduct agreement

The Dukes of Norfolk maintained their Roman Catholic faith when Henry VIII broke away from Rome. Thomas, the 4th Duke, maintained his faith but not his head when he was executed for his part in a plot against Elizabeth by supporters of Mary Queen of Scots.

The Howard family have held the title of Earl Marshall since 1483.

I thought it odd that there was no mention of Queen Camilla

She was mentioned concerning one of the acts, Lucy I think, the blind pianist. To do with a charity Camilla supports, think it was Amber or similar, but a bit hazy on it.

I suppose it was all centred on Charles really, I bet Camilla was quite happy about that.

Yes, it’s odd that William didn’t mention Camilla. You’d do it just out of politeness.
It reminds me a bit of the Fergie /no invite business.
The more I see of them and read on here about them, the more I realise that they really do things very differently to us lot

I think one ot two of the earlier Dukes, were more flexible in their religious affiliations.

I wondered if William was aware of all the spite directed at Queen Camilla, and didn’t want to invoke more unpleasant comments towards her. It was King Charles’ coronation after all.

Good point Molly, it’s all about the PR isn’t it. What a way to live.
(I just had a fleeting bit of sympathy for Harry <shudder>)