I especially noticed that on the balcony, she marshalled the children like any grandmother – but the biggest smile of the day was for her husband, nobody else. Yet since this couple is indivisible, it was all for her, too. Within the glory of Westminster Abbey, she knew that the fanfare and the pomp and ceremony were for her husband first. In the coach, she looked as petrified as we would be. Competent, she can turn her hand to anything – and as, wife, mother and grandmother, she has been a powerful voice for all women. She looked magnificent in silk, yet the real Camilla turns up in wellies to support small rural charities few people know about. Never mind a golden coach: this woman is happier in a garden. A shadowed figure in cream robes, she seemed, I thought, rather dazed by events – though rock-solid as ever. The journey to Westminster Abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach must have been an ordeal for a down-to-earth woman who never wanted to be Queen. Her hands rested loosely in her lap when she released one of them to wave, it was tentative, even tense. Kate, Princess of Wales, right, Princess Charlotte, left, and Prince Louis, centre It is understood this was always planned due to the pure length and formality of the service being too much for such a young prince. The princess was seen bending down to talk to Louis when the congregation stood for a hymn, shortly before the five-year-old left the front row of the abbey for a short time. Kate smiled down at Louis, seated to her right, when the five-year-old struggled to stay still during the formal ceremony, often glancing at his mother. While William focused on the service, knowing that the next coronation will likely be his own, Kate took time to calm and reassure Louis when he became a little fidgety.Īlthough William, Kate, Charlotte and Louis arrived later than planned for the service, they showed no signs of being flustered and were seen chatting as they waited to go inside. While the Prince of Wales had a formal role paying homage to his father during the service, Kate focused on caring for the couple's younger children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.Ĭharlotte, eight, showed focus and composure throughout the formal service, but Louis, who turned five less than two weeks ago, needed a little more attention. No wonder they are putting a crown on his head! He just stands there as if nothing is happening,' said Cann, the director of the British Forces Foundation.Īt home millions of viewers put down their cups of tea to absorb the news of this mind-blowing regal superpower. 'The King is the one person I have met in my life who does not mind the rain.
Over on The Coronation of King Charles III (Sky), Mark Cann did the honours. 'All of them are trained for ceremonial work,' she said, admiringly. 'Just a light drizzle in the air, nothing more than that,' she said briskly, before turning her attentions, as always, to the horses. His colleague Clare Balding was more upbeat. 'Yesterday this part of London was in a torrential downpour,' he added, because you can always depend on Huw to egg the quiche of despair with an extra portion of double-thick gloom. 'It has not been entirely kind,' whimpered Huw Edwards on The Coronation of HM The King (BBC1), as the Diamond Jubilee State Coach sloshed through puddles en route to Westminster Abbey. We are not British for nothing, and there is nothing that we love more than discussing the weather. Rain fell on Coronation Day, and if you think the nation's broadcasters and celebrities were going to let this insolent precipitation pass unnoticed, you were very much mistaken. Metropolitan Police Commander Karen Findlay acknowledged concerns about the arrest of protesters but defended Scotland Yard's actions, saying: 'Our duty is to do so in a proportionate manner in line with relevant legislation.' Graham Smith (file image) The force confirmed 52 people were arrested for affray, public order offences, breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance around the coronation. The Metropolitan Police has been heavily criticised over the detentions, with some campaign groups likening the 'incredibly alarming' arrests to 'something you would expect to see in Moscow, not London'. Now our freedoms are under attack in his name.' 'I have been told many times the monarch is there to defend our freedoms. Posting to Twitter, Mr Smith said there was 'no longer a right to peaceful protest in the UK'. Graham Smith was released by the Met Police around 11pm on Saturday, while the majority of his Republic colleagues continued to be held. The chief executive of an anti-monarchy group who was among 52 people arrested on the day of the King's Coronation has been released after nearly 16 hours in police custody.
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