Well, it seems quite odd that we are already at 5 May but we are just one day ahead of the Coronation now. While I’ve got a lot to do to get ready for our own celebration, I’d imagine that Buck House and the Abbey are far busier than I could imagine. I’ve been asked by many people for what I be looking out for Saturday, so I am sharing my list today: these are the 5 things to watch for at the coronation! (Style File Friday will return next week, never fear.)
Find Your Stream or Channel
Before I get into the details, I would recommend figuring out where and how you will be watching the Coronation. (I’m assuming if you are still reading this post, you will be watching it.) If you are like me and in the middle of North America (or further west) it’s going to be a 3 am start if you want to see arrivals. In order to be prepared, I would recommend that you find the channels or streams that you will be able to watch the Coronation on ahead of time. As a Canadian, I will be using the CBC and CTV feeds for most of it. Your local news station (if you have cable), may carry some or all of it.
The Royal Family has a YouTube stream that begins at 10:25 local time (presumably starting with The King and Queen leaving the Palace): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8HVnAXZI1I.
5 Things To Watch For at the Coronation
1) Royal Guests at the Coronation
This is the first time that reigning monarchs have been invited to a British coronation; I will be watching intently to see what that actually looks like in practice and if they do anything separately from the rest of the congregation. And if I’m being honest, I’m very much looking forward to the photos from the pre-Coronation reception for visiting foreign royals this evening!
2) Influences From Other Faiths
While the Service has been released and it is decidedly Church of England as all British coronations have been for over 500 years, I will be curious to see if any other faiths are included in any way that we do not know about. The King has long been open about his interest in other faiths and his public support, but it will be interesting to see if that translates to anything included in the Coronation.
3) Regalia
Everyone focuses on the Crown Jewels, specifically the Imperial State Crown, St. Edward’s Crown, the Orb, and the Sceptre. However, there are several important pieces of Regalia that do not receive the same amount of attention. The Coronation Spoon, for example, dates back to 1349 conclusively but most likely was created earlier, and is the oldest surviving piece.
Many of the other pieces of Regalia that you will see at the Coronation were recreated in 1661 for King Charles II’s coronation. The Parliamentarians melted down and sold off most of the Regalia in the Interregnum and thus had to be recreated. However, they are still over three and a half centuries old, and that is nothing to sneeze at.
4) The Music
We have had much news in the last few months about The King commissioning twelve new pieces for the Coronation. And there are several pieces that have been included in the coronation for centuries, including Handel’s ‘Zadok the Priest’. However, I am quite excited to finally hear everything. Obviously, it will not be the same as someone in the Abbey hearing it performed live, but I am nevertheless looking forward to finally hearing everything.
5) The Coronation Procession Back to Buckingham Palace
The procession to the Abbey before the Coronation will be interesting to watch, but I am waiting for the procession that will take The King and Queen back to Buckingham Palace. They will travel back in the Gold State Coach, a coach that George III commissioned in 1760 and has been used at every coronation since 1821. While it is apparently not comfortable for the rider, I am here for the history of it!
It will also be interesting to compare how the now-Wales family fare on their ride back. Catherine and the children took part in the procession at the Jubilee Trooping the Colour last June, so they have experience with it. However, a Coronation is far more formal, and not quite the same- hopefully, it is smooth sailing (er… riding)!
What 5 things will you be watching for at the coronation?
Cheers,
The Historian
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I enjoy your blog. I have long thought it would really benefit readers if you put captions under your photos. Often I don’t know who or what I am looking at. I do not know the man with King Charles in the top photo, and his identity is not even hinted at in your text except that he is a reigning monarch. I have found this frustrating in the past although I enjoy your posts very much. Thanks!
Hi Sydney! Thank you very much for the feedback!! These are from Getty Images and they are hosted elsewhere (they are news photos that you can “set in” your site). Because they aren’t my images, I can’t add captions, but if you click through you will be taken to the Getty Page that does have more information on who is in the photo and where they are 🙂 I hope this helps!!