Ever since we attended the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth we had looked forward to this event… the Coronation of King Charles 3rd.
So we discussed options and decided we would go down on the preceding Thursday and camp on the Mall until it was over… so we booked out bus tickets, and started to plan the outing, as much as anything trying to predict what calamities would afflict us… there was going to be something… surely…
We spoke on Tuesday and decided that a quiet Wednesday and Thursday were called for… as it seems we were both already excited about the forthcoming events that getting to sleep was likely to be tricky….so it was a day of feet up and doing nothing until Thursday afternoon when I went to Tracey’s for dinner and a bit of a chill out before getting a Taxi to the Bus Station.
The bus was scheduled for 8.15 and around 8.00 every bus on the time-table was showing “en route”… except for one… the 8.15 to London. It was then announced that the 8.15 was now boarding… so we trotted out full of the joys of spring only to be told by the driver that ha needed a 45 minute break or he would be out of driving hours, which meant the bus would be leaving around 8.45… so, right from the off thing were going a tad off track……
The journey was uneventful and we landed at Victoria Coach Station around 11.00 pm and made our way towards the Mall…we were taken aback that the Mall was already fairly packed, but we did find a spot by the railings opposite St James Palace. There was a woman sitting on a chair ‘next door’… we had a chat a set up out tent… at least Tracey did… my tent erecting skills were found wanting! However soon everything was shipshape and we settled down on the stools and enjoyed a rather nice bottle of red wine before settling down to try to sleep…
Next morning on awaking we edged elegantly from the tent and started the day… at least we got a coffee and goggled at the stupidity of the woman we had spoken to the night before…she and a friend were saving 8 spaces on the barrier for friends not yet arrived, and insisted she was going to sit in the 15 inch gap between our tent and the barrier… without going into a long saga… she didn’t and showed herself up as a moron over nearly 2 full days!
Friday was really a day to get through before the main event on Saturday… so we were able to source alternative toilet facilities and alternative sources of coffee… to sit and chat and form bonds with (most of) the people around us… amazingly next next was a lady from Market Harborough and her mum, who used to live on Eyres Monsell but was now living in Sutton on Sea… also nearby was Sally, an interesting woman who lived with her dogs in a mobile home but was camping in a canvas sun-shelter… and a couple of other folk, all of whom were proving to be good company.
The woman from earlier had now joined some of her friends and they were all wearing shirts saying “West Midlands Loyalist Royalist’s” (I know there should not be an apostrophe, but there was one on there shirts) and doing their utmost to display as much Charles 3rd and monarchy favours as possible… their aim was to see how many interviews they could give and how many people wanted to photograph them… and to continue to advertise their scores… the rest of us just wanted them to go away!!
Although it was a day before the Coronation there was a great deal of activity…
To our side was an access road to a site for deliveries… and it was fun watching the delivery vehicles coming and going… every delivery getting a cheer and round of applause… especially the trucks carrying portsloos… to some of the drivers it was water off a ducks back, but others joined in and camped it up, playing along and waving enthusiastically…
Police Motor-Cycle crews “blue lighted”limousines along the Mall… we understand it was taking the dignitaries and officials to the Abbey to familiarise themselves with seating.
At one point the Mall was all but blocked with Limos and Police outriders, and somehow a huge tanker managed to get out of the delivery site into the Mall and join the queue… causing a major tail back which took a fair while to clear… it adds to the fun.
As the afternoon carried on Tracey went for a wander, came back having spent time by the water enjoying and photographing the birds… she came back with some great photos so my next wander took me to the same spot where I was able to watch the wildlife and managed to photograph a “ Lifer” (Parakeet) and “First of the Years”… Jay, Barnacle Goose, Red Crested Pochard & Feral Pigeon)
The day was flying by, as evening drew on we were all regretting the “Loyal Royals” forming into a choir and delivering some of the worst singing I have ever heard… and indeed so “loyal royal” that they had the words of the first verse off the National Anthem typed out on paper…
At some point “Sutton on Sea” announced she was going to put on her long Johns… maybe too much detail… and we all worked out and agreed a strategy for packing up in the morning to ensure we all got on the barriers… and it succeeded… we were all sitting on stools leaning on the barriers…
The area was getting really packed now, around 5.00 am on the Saturday, and getting out (and back) was getting more difficult but I did manage to make it out for the toilet and to get an early morning caffeine each and a couple of rather good bacon butties.
The stewards were trying to keep the route to the delivery area clear and discouraging people from standing there, but clearly there was risk here. but the miserable woman had slept through the night… and the rain… on a chair with a bin bag over her head… once she emerged, she realised that she was isolated from her friends… she looked sheepish… offered Tracey a deal, to swap places so she was with her crew… did us a favour… we were then in perfect positions!
There were going to be no more deliveries and the crowd started to build up there… at the back… those of us in our places on the barrier were getting anxious anticipating. Problem if the stewards allowed it to continue, when there was a kind of roar and the pressure in the delivery road hit a peak and the dam burst and the people cascaded down to the front… it was a potentially dangerous moment and very disturbing. Around now, the announcers were requesting that all seats and stools were now packed away. We thought this unwise as if those at the front remained seated more people would get a better viewpoint… also the presence of the seats was preventing the crowds from pressing forward.
We spoke to the Police Officer on duty who accepted the point and said she would not be joining the request to pack seats away…so we didn’t… and it proved the best decision…
With the events of the crowd crush in the delivery road and the crowds getting ever deeper with thousands still pouring into the Mall, the mood was becoming definitely downbeat and veering towards aggressive… however at this point the Police route liners were in place along the route and the Guards had also taken up station… there were also a number of military personnel in combat gear in the road then out came a column of armed police…all carrying what appeared to be sub machine guns and looking like the kind of guy you don’t argue with… one such stood in front of us and was scanning the crowd with real intensity… the security presence was reassuring and in minutes the atmosphere relaxed and the usual high spirits of these events took over.
Suddenly a very loud and powerful voice on the opposite side of the Mall started singing “You’re not singing over there” and banter and song flowed around the Mall, quickly followed by a series of Mexican waves… which faltered as they reached the “Royalist” women who were not interested as it didn’t put them centre of attention I imagine.
But time was passing… quickly… and there repeated announcements about doing anything to disturb the horses… Now we could feel the excitement building… anxious looks at watches… the Royal Procession due to start at 1020… and we are now around 10.00 and any thoughts of toilet had long been shelved…to be honest everyone was so wet by now there was an alternative!!… you could have got away with it!!
Then the announcement the the King and Queen were in the carriage… there seemed to be a huge intake of breath and we knew that we were about to see history in action…
We had been chatting with the two Irish ladies behind us… and a lady with every ailment in the dictionary, and a few extra, who was there with her daughter… but with the announcement it fell silent and all eyes on the Mall… we couldn’t see the Palace but the roar that went up from that end told us that the King and Queen were on the way… the whole body was tingling with anticipation… the roar was moving inexorably along the Mall.. getting closer and the buzz getting greater….
Everyone was holding their breath… the roar was getting closer… then the Guards drummers came into view… like a dam bursting the cheers and applause were all around us… next were the Guards Regiments… marching with their firearms over their shoulders… the sight of these troops is so impressive… so awe inspiring… you gasp… you may have seen it times before but it still raises the hair on the back of your neck… behind the troops came Officers.. riding singly behind the marching troops… heads held high… pride, mixed with huge concentration…. gleaming from every one of them… then a gasp… I saw the heavy horses and drummers we had been discussing earlier… everyone craned further forward… as the drums got closer, the cheers got louder… then they were in front of us… absolutely awe-inspiring sight and sound…
Behind came a troop of Blues and Royals… magnificent in their dark blue tunics and red plumes… and then…
There were the Windsor Greys… so appropriately ribboned in Royal Blue.. the cheers were reaching a crescendo, and when the coach was in view we got to see the King and Queen… relaxed, smiling, waving… all pretence at nonchalance was gone… flags were waving frantically…the crowd were screaming with joy… tears were flowing… we all had idiot grins along with the tears, shouts and flag waving… this was a moment that will not be forgotten by anyone there…simply awe inspiring… the emotions were high… joy, pride, excitement and LOVE…
As the carriage passed it was followed by the Blues and Royals leading a limousine with the Prince and Princess of Wales with their children… The whole Royal procession lasted no more than 4-1/2 minutes but it was 4-1/2 minutes that will last forever in the memory… it was absolutely awe-inspiring… beautiful… emotional… tears were flowing everywhere… the joy was visible on everyones face… this had been absolutely wonderful and everyone was agreed… this 4-21/2 minutes made the days camping on the Mall worth it and more…
But then… thinking this part of the day was over… then there were more cheers along the Mall… the Kings Troop of Royal Artillery appear on horseback pulling the gleaming gun carriages… then a gap… then a seemingly unending succession of military bands and troops representing the members of the Commonwealth… after a while more troopers appear marching on the outside of the main parade carrying the flags of the commonwealth… eventually the parade came to an end… everyone drew breath blown away by what we had seen…
Meanwhile, while this magnificent parade passed the service in the Abbey had started… we were hearing the audio broadcast but had no pictures… we heard the young lad ask the King why he was there, and heard the King reply “To serve”… perhaps the theme of the whole Coronation.
We had heard before that this service was going to be different, inclusive, and as it went on it proved to be so… it is difficult to recall even a day later what order things happened… but moments of the service stand out so clearly… the music was majestic… awesome… breathtaking… the first I clearly recall was in Welsh… a soloist with a simply magnificent voice singing out loud, clear, strong… and so beautiful and moving…. Not long afterwards we heard the Ascension Choir (I think the is what they were called) singing Gospel… always uplifting but this was special…
As the service progressed the Archbishop spoke to the King… bidding him to serve honourably… the King responded in a clear unwavering, though maybe unemotional, voice. There was a hush on the Mall as we listened intently… then the moment… the pinnacle… the crowning ceremony at which point the strains of Zadok the Priest rose… this is a piece that I have always loved with a passion and it always appears at state occasions and always melts me totally… as the music rose and rose my eyes were filling up… as the voices rose…. Zay….dock the Priest… May the king live forever…. The tears started… I was in tears as much as when the king went psst…
The service continued… there was a silence… then a roar from the area with a video screen… we knew… the King had been crowned and the whole Mall cheered to the echo…
Then another massive moment… The Prince of Wales was called to pay homage to the Monarch. We knew that at this point in the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth her husband the Duke of Edinburgh had made the declaration and chastely kissed her cheek.. we know that William would now be doing the same for his father the King.. .such an emotional moment… so powerful…
As the service continued Julian Weby , the Archbishop of Canterbury invited the congregation and those on the street to declare their fealty to the King… in the Abbey we heard that declaration spoken loud and clear….and at the end the cry of “God Save the King” from the millions on the Mall could perhaps have been heard halfway around the country…
Then came the crowning of Queen Camilla… there was some apprehension over how this would be taken as there is still some resistance to her, as a divorcee, holding there title… no need to worry… she was cheered… perhaps not as loudly as the King, but there were no signs of dissension…
At the end of the service came time for the National Anthem… in the Abbey and on the Mall the familiar words were sung with pride, emotion and not a few tears, at a colossal volume.. .it took your breath… elated, inspired… a hugely moving and uplifting time…
Eventually the service was over and we were ready for the return trip… the torrential rain that had been falling eased… slightly… we were all so soaked by then it didn’t much matter…
The announcer told us the procession was setting off… we learned later that the 4000 troops and bands started at precisely the same moment on the same foot…and all of of there bands were playing the same piece of music in the same time… a totally insane thing to attempt but it was carried off to perfection… of course it was, was there a doubt???
The procession came into view… starting with Blues and Royals and immediately followed by the Heavy horses and drummers, then the Kings Troop with their gun carriages… that was so wonderful to see but then things just got better and better and emotions were starting to get the better of us again…
Behind the gun carriages came a guards band, then a regiment of Guards, their officers holding their swords ramrod straight and rock steady at their head… then possibly the most magnificent sights ever… a regiment of Household Cavalry marching resplendent in their scarlet tunics and white plumes, followed by the Blues and Royals in their blue tunics and red plumes…
The sight of each of these regiments marching along the Mall is so awe inspiring and magnificent it brings a tear to the eye… tears of joy and pride… and total admiration… and love…
Behind the blues and royals come the Yeoman Guards… the Beefeaters… always a sight to rise the heart and cheer…
And then… 4 Canadian Mounted Police on horseback… the Mounties… I have no idea why the appearance of the Mounties is so incredibly moving and exciting… but it really is… and as they appeared… there was a renewed cheer…
Behind the Mounties came a regiment of mounted Blues and Royals.. such a magnificent sight at any time… but in this context simply awesome… as the troop progressed the top of the Gold Coach came into view… the roars increased… then it was in front of us… we were seeing His Majesty and Her Royal Highness in the coach… in their Crowns… the reaction was almost hysterical… the cheering… the waving… more tears of pride and joy… this was a real emotional high… so exciting… so magical… so awe inspiring…
We were then amazed to see the Princess Royal riding in full dress uniform behind the coach… another high… and then the smaller coaches… the first carrying the Prince and Princess of Wales with their children… looking so relaxed and happy… the children looking so dignified and happy… then another coach… this carrying Prince Edward and Sophie, who was peering through the window like a school child on her first trip on a train… looking so happy and excited… and their children, now of course grow-ups… behind that came the third coach carrying the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Vice Admiral Tim Lawrence, the husband of the Princess of Wales…
It wasn’t over… behind them came the representatives of the Commonwealth… with military bands or marching troops… and again the troopers with all of their flags… in time the procession ended… the parade was over… a day of intense excitement, joy snd emotion was over… almost…
We realised however that the sky was lowering… the rain hammering down… we were soaked and tired but elated… Tracey flicked through her pictures and found one which had the face our local Police Officer on one side and Queen Camilla looking out of the carriage on the other side… she called him over and showed him… he was delighted and asked if she could send him the picture… which she did immediately via email… and we had a lovely chat with him…. A lovely way to round off that part of the day,…
The weather meant the fly past was in doubt… but as the Police led the crowds from higher up the Mall towards the Palace we were stunned by the amount of people.. it was registering clearly what a huge crowd had braved the weather to witness the spectacle… we found ourselves chatting with another couple of folk until the crowd started to thin out a bit… the message came through that the fly past would happen, but in a reduced way… there would be a flypast of Military helicopters and of course the Red Arrows…
Minutes later the sky was roaring with the sound of helicopters… a formation of maybe a dozen or more roared low overhead… then a gap… the crowd was peering up the Mall away from the Palace… there was a roar… a cheer… and the Red Arrows were here… streaming their red white and blue smoke along the Mall.. .a fitting, majestic and glorious end to this day of days…
You may be wondering how much the Loyalist Royalists enjoyed the spectacle… they spent most of it under plastic sheeting playing with their phones and sleeping… I doubt they saw any of it…
Elated we set off in search of food, toilets and beer… though not necessarily in that order… this time we planned to go towards Victoria, near the coach station. However, I believe stupidly (the organisers who though responsible for the event were not in evidence) the whole crowd on the Park side of the Mall was being channelled out though one gate to the top of the Mall and Admiralty Arch… there was no hope of circling around to get to Victoria so we opted to go to China Town… sadly with exhaustion and elation my mind was scrambled… I couldn’t remember the way… so ask a Policeman… we got into conversation with him about the offensive tripe the god botherer opposite was shrieking and asked if he was allowed to make so much noise… the Officer said sadly he was, but it was horrible..,. he did point out that murdering the bloke would be frowned on…
After s couple of false turns we finally arrived in China Town and staggered under the weight of luggage, exhaustion and torrential rain into a restaurant and had a rather nice meal and a couple of Tiger Beers which did much to revive!!… Sadly the toilets were upstairs… that proved a challenge!… but we eventually made it…
While happily drinking the second beer we wondered about catching an earlier bus home… it seemed a plan…
We finally got back out into the road and caught a tube, only two stops but involved a change of line… and about 9 million steps… to get to Victoria, then a walk to the coach station. After struggling to find somewhere to enquire we changed tickets for the 6.30 bus…
It then seemed a plan to phone Liz and ask if she and Carl would join us for a beer once home… after thinking she said ok.. so we arranged that they pick us up at the bus station… yep.. .that was part of our plan, I guess a bit of a con…
As this trip started so it ended… our bus came in… it was announced it was delayed… then the route boards kept showing it delayed til 7.00… then back to 6.30 on two adjoining bays… eventually the “organisers” announced the bus to Leicester… we went out for it to be told no, this is for Hull… so we went back in… put bags down and were immediately called back for the Leicester bus… There was a 7.00 bus to Leicester… that went then at 7.02 the 6.30 bus left…with us on board… happily it was now a direct coach, no stop at Milton Keynes so we got back to Leicester about the time we would have had there been no delay.
It was a weird journey… we didn’t notice any service stations… no signs of towns… we thought that maybe we were on a different road or the someone had removed everything on the road over the weekend… but we pitched up in Leicester safely enough… met Liz and Carl and collapsed into the car… went to the Crows Nest and had a lovely hour or so and a couple of even more lovely beers before Liz drove us home…
We had left Tracey’s place about 7.15 Thursday evening… got back around midnight Saturday… totally exhausted… totally ecstatic… thrilled by the occasion and event… and wondering when the next one would be… Can’t see another in the short term!!
But the memories of these days will last for an eternity….
