The sky over London is gray on May 6, not perfect weather. The British capital has dressed up, the Union Jack and the new royal coat of arms adorn pins, flags and posters. When you approach the city center by car, you are first immersed in a sea of sirens, emergency services everywhere. In the metro stations, signs refer to the procession route.
A brief first contact with the royal family comes as early as noon on Friday, the day before the coronation, as torrential rain showers descended on the city. At Westminster Abbey, people with umbrellas crowd around the front gate. A helicopter roars in the sky. Suddenly the police whistle, the crowd has to give way to a convoy. Cheering breaks out: the regal Bentley leaves the final rehearsals. For seconds, the royal family is only a few feet away. A woman exclaims excitedly, “There were Charles and Camilla right in front of us! And they waved at us!”
Joy to the Royalists
A few hours later at dinner at the Union Jack Club, a veterans’ hangout. Paintings of tanks and posters with World War II slogans of perseverance hang on the eggshell-colored walls of the dining room. (“Saving for the Brave”). At the next table sits a medal-laden Australian, who was awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain’s and the Commonwealth’s highest military decoration, during the Vietnam War. He is one of the guests of honor of the troops who hold their own parade.
Our host Ken (84) is a convinced, happy royalist: «I grew up with the monarchy, like the army, I associate it with respect. The good thing about the royal family is that they cost less than they bring us, they are the best company in England.” His partner Tina says: “Being a British royal gives me a sense of identity. And would the alternatives automatically be better? Others just get a President Trump.”
Both believe that Charles will not have an easy time as king. Even if he has spent his entire life preparing for his task, the Queen’s footsteps are probably too great. But you have to give him time, Ken thinks. The public often judges the royals too harshly, in the end they are just a family with problems like any other. Isn’t it just the opposite with royal power? After all, the public pays for the entire royal circus and locks the members in the golden cage for entertainment and identity formation. The Royalists immediately agreed with this idea.
Royal marketing flourishes everywhere: the face of the new monarch, who can smile mischievously as well as a little seriously, adorns plates, cups, flags, tea tins, tablecloths, pillows, oven mitts, among other things. Charles greets from life-sized cardboard cutouts, nods in agreement like a nodding figure. Heinz ketchup is sold as kingchup.
In addition to the current Coronation Tinnef, the remaining merchandise that was offered for the Queen’s State Funeral in September 2022 can still be found in a number of stores.
Royal camp
The wide boulevard The Mall runs from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square. Days before the ceremony, it is cordoned off by the police. On one side, campers occupy the front row and decorate the fence with posters and flags. The most notable supporters are besieged by journalists. The cameras and microphones love the US royal fan club or the group of elderly ladies, one of whom is dressed in a dress with the image of the king while her friend is dressed as a Grenadier Guard.
Keef was already at Lady Diana’s funeral. The visitor to Suffolk hopes people will be happy with the celebration. “Charles will make a good king, why shouldn’t he?” he says with conviction. He listens to people, is a “friend of Mother Earth” and has learned a lot from his mother. These three qualities are often mentioned here. On the controversy surrounding Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who has remained in the United States and is celebrating son Archie’s fourth birthday instead of the coronation, Keef says only: “As you make your bed, so you lie. Without Meghan, you would the country will probably welcome Harry with open arms.”
Sarah from Surrey wears the Union Jack as a cape. The teacher still has to teach on Friday, fortunately the neighbors in the tent provide their place. “This is a historic moment that will not happen again.” But not everyone in the country is so euphoric. Many don’t care about the coronation, the approval ratings for the royal family in general and Charles in particular are at a low level according to government polls.
“Not my king” on coronation day
No major political party is publicly calling for an end to the monarchy. But isolated voices, devoutly silent when the queen died, grow louder during the holiday. In Trafalgar Square, the occasion looks more like a demonstration than a coronation procession. There, the Republic protest group uneasily welcomes the king: “King parasite” and “Charles Windsor is my equal” are written on their placards, a large yellow banner with the motto “Abolish the monarchy” hangs in the field of view of the fans . Hours earlier, key members of Republic had been arrested elsewhere.
One of the protesters is a young woman who happens to be named Charlie. She fundamentally rejects monarchy as a form of rule, even though Charles turns out to be the greatest king of all time: “I don’t believe in any God-given right to rule over others. The monarchy symbolizes everything that goes wrong here in the country in terms of false privileges and lack of meriocracy. And all the money we can get from royalties doesn’t justify a system that degrades us all.”
A woman who tries to climb at a traffic light to get a better view of the carriage thinks Protestants have a right to express their opinion. “But not the right to ruin everyone’s day,” says her neighbor. Another lady says to a police officer, “why are those idiots even standing here if they reject all this?”
Every time the Republicans begin to sing, the audience passionately shouts, “Losers!” A man sings “My king, I am proud of it”. Shortly before the start of the parade, the police confiscated a large protest banner to the derision of the king’s fans.
Finally a king
As the carriage rolls through Admirality Arch around 10:30 a.m., a huge cheer is heard, under which the isolated boos are completely drowned out. A tall gentleman in a suit lets out a pious sigh at the sight of the royal couple. Here too, the golden carriage, which has been used at every coronation since 1831, disappeared around the corner within seconds.
Covent Garden’s Coal Hole Pub is packed from 11am. With a pint of beer in hand, people stare respectfully at the flat screen on which the two-hour service is broadcast. Westminster Abbey’s monumental acoustics are only surpassed by those in the pub. Many a Amen is loudly endorsed by the visitors and the public oath to the king, which has already been controversially debated in the British media, is at least whispered here.
Charles looks even more serious than the audience during the celebration; almost as if the long-awaited day were the burden of his life and gloves, cloak and sword were too great for him. Had a laugh in the pub when at 12 o’clock the crown does not fit perfectly and needs to be readjusted. Then collective enthusiasm, raise the glass: «We have a king! » (aargauerzeitung.ch)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
