General Chat

Imagine how they feel.

Such a long day for all those involved but what a successful occasion that was. No matter what you think of the King and Queen. There was so much in the service that they must be exhausted. And all the page boys did a great job too. Charlotte looked pretty and Louis managed very well with a short break. But the best bit was the pageantry of the parade with the King and queen in the beautiful golden coach and all the military and the bands.

It was all so colourful I loved it.

We watched it too Ann and thoroughly enjoyed it. Those crowns must have weighed so heavy and i'm sure they were scared in case they fell off.

Yes noticed little Louis absent for a short while, probably needed the toilet bless him but he was behaved and Prince George did so well too.

The parade of all the pageantry was a huge affair yet it all went perfectly.

I really enjoyed it all and yes it must have been really tiring for those involved. I think Little Louis has what used to be called hyper activity, don't know what it is called now.

Lol ZZzzz its called being a wee monkey!

You're tired!

You didn't wake up randomly at 3 a.m. ... having been asleep for about two hours ... and decide you may as well stay awake for the festivities to start at 4:00 ... then figure you may as well nap until the main event at 6:00, but mostly stay awake anyway ...

I'd thought of spending some time this sunny (for the first time in about two weeks and the last time until next weekend, says the forecast) day sitting out on the veranda, with No.1 in his wheely chair in the open doorway (haven't worked out a doorstep ramp yet, let alone a 3-stair ramp down to the sidewalk). I'm thinking I'll just go to sleep now.

29 years ago pretty much to the day, my mum and I were zonked from jet lag and doing an easy all-day bus tour that took us on that road to Buckingham Palace.

I won't call myself a monarchist, but I'll paraphrase Winston Churchill, who said:

"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…"

Constitutional monarchy is the worst form of government ... except for every other government on the face of the earth at present.

Also: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Maybe a tune-up, though. ;-)

Managed to get back from my holiday in time to see it on the tv And, by hanging out the window got to see the helicopters in formation, which surprised me as the map had the original fly past turning south and missing us altogether.

Snap JoonieC!!!!

We decided we wanted to see the Coronation and everything live, not taped, so we stayed up, din't bother trying to get a short sleep in, and finally flaked about 6:45 am our time.

It WAS well worth it though!!!

OH and I both have some memories of 1953, his parents bought a TV specially for that, I saw a little bit by lying on the pavement outside a neighbour's door, along with 4 or 5 other kids, trying to see their little tv but I think most of my memories are from being taken to see the film, plus newspapers, etc.

The procession left the Palace at 2 am our time (8 hours behind you), and we watched it all on BBCWorld. It was all so magnificent, went so well, and, oh my, all those soldiers!! Britain is still superb at that kind of pomp and ceremony. I noticed a few of the horses were a little recalcitrant though :-D

Plus the 5 RCMP guys on the horses they had given to the Queen (4) + the new one given to King Charles.

The kiddies were all well behaved, even the mischief maker. And wasn't it incredible seeing all those thousands of people moving peacefully down the Mall towards the Palace so they could see the King and Queen on the Balcony?!

I'm like Joonie .............. I'm not a full-out monarchist although that's how my family was, but I do like the idea of the monarchy still being connected with Canada, the Governor-General as a sort of overall apolitical person. Especially if King Charles turns out to be the sort of King that he has been projecting so far.

So, God Save the King!

I watched it too.
I am a bit of a monarchist, because the alternative is a President.

Anyone who complains about the cost of the Coronation to me, gets the response -
The first Coronation in 70 years. How much do you think 3 inaugurations in a year would have cost? You'd also have to factor in that 'some people' would have to make vast profits from those inaugurations, like they did during Covid..

I also thought about when/where those in the Abbey went to the loo
How/when/where were those troops fed?
How/when/where were the horses, not necessarily fed, but watered?

Amazing co-ordination, preparation etc.

maggie ............. that is really the main part of my reason for being a monarchist!

The position of President immediately becomes political, even if described as being a ceremonial post. Imagine electing a President that turns out to be like Trump or some other politicians I could mention.

I also wondered about the "loo" problem ..... I sw where the "limited" loos in the Abbey were to be closed from 10 am (or was it it 9 am), and people ,had already been in there since 7am, and lining up since before that.

The mind boggles!

The ceremony last about 2 hours, so I guess the horses could have been watered, but where? Soldiers could also have received food then.

One question, if anyone knows .............

Were the young soldiers who placed the screen around the King the same ones who carried Queen Elizabeth's coffin last year??

I have a vague memory of seeing some time ago that they were going to be asked

Sylvia, Oh I had not thought that about the young Soldiers but they were all young weren't they, I will see if I can find anything on that. and both of you there in Canada I hope you have now caught up on your sleep, I admire your stamina and had not thought of far off Commonwealth friends having to stay up/get up early to watch. But it was a fantastic day of watching.

Sylvia I think they were not the same,

The three sides of the screen will be borne by a Trooper and Guardsman from each of The Life Guards, Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Irish Guards, and Welsh Guards.

I was very impressed by
(a) Penny Mordaunt, standing motionless most of the time, holding that sword which must have been heavy,
and (b) the BSL interpreter on BBC2, who stood throughout the long programme, looking happy and interested, doing such expressive signing, including many of the words of what the choirs sang.


EDIT:
By Googling, I see there were actually two interpreters, Eddie Moriarty and Matthew Banks covering the broadcast from 8am to 5pm.- though I was only aware of the one who did it during the service/ceremony.