Would have watched it if we had a TV.
I honestly didn’t realize it was yesterday. Of course, I knew it was “coming up soon.” I probably would have skipped it anyway. It’s been a busy few days and it’s all I can do to keep up with the Mariner games.
Wiki:
Doesn’t look to me like it cost the taxpayers anything.
If I was up and watching TV I probably would have checked out some of it. To be honest I forgot it was happening until I started to to get updates on my phone.
Nah. Not my circus, not my monkeys, not my king.
Like Loach I forgot it was happening. I guess I knew it was coming up sometime soon but apparently the actual date/time never registered. Oh well. I did order a little CRIII coronation commemorative tin of Twinings tea, that’s about as involved as I got.
Oh no, I’m with you on that. If i had been watching i would have been annoyed by that also. I don’t want to hear a bunch of speculation. I’m interested in what he actually does now that he is His Majesty The King.
OTOH, heraldry, the meanings behind the various colors and symbols and devices and coats of arms and what all is interesting in and of its own right, that would have been a bit of interesting commentary on the proceedings.
I’m not interested in other countries ceremonies. I am old enough to remember Charles as a 25 year old prince. His sister Anne rode in the Olympics.
That was a long time ago. It’s hard to appreciate the relevance of the Monarchy in 2023. But it’s not my country or concern.
1953: Mrs. FtG skips school to watch the coronation of Liz. (Film segments of the affair were flown to the US for quick rebroadcast.)
2023: We sleep in, turn on the TV late, the coronation is already over, just the afterwards waving stuff. Mrs. FtG had it on in the background with the sound off but wasn’t paying much attention.
I did not. I don’t care about the Kentucky Derby either.
TIL: There was a coronation in Kentucky and it was called a Derby.
What interests me about these things is not the ceremony itself so much, as the run-up and the aftermath. I turned on BBC World early Friday afternoon, watched until late, recorded and slept through the ceremony, got up and watched the aftermath. There were talking heads, but I was interested in hearing what they had to say, and there was info about the ceremonial stuff (orb, sceptre, etc), and sound bites from people who had queued up, and live feeds from Canada, Australia and USA…Afterwards, it was recapped endlessly, more talking heads, which was interesting because they did not ignore, or IMO denigrate, the anti-monarchy protestors, and more sound bites.
If the only thing being broadcast was the ceremony, I probably would have waited for the recap (I’d want to see that much). But it’s fun to watch all the excitement, and to hear people’s stories, and see future archival footage as it’s happening. (I’m calling it now: when William becomes king, the vow and the kiss and Charles holding back tears will be the clip that gets endlessly played.)
(Also, when the crown was placed on Camilla’s head, I said to Mr. Rilch, “See, the roof did not fall in, she did not burst into flames nor get struck by lightning. What?.. No, I do not wish it was Diana. Diana is somewhere on a beach, sipping mai tais with Gianni Versace and saying ‘Uneasy lies the head!’”)
We skimmed though the coronation on YouTube replay later. Initially it was interesting, but it went on, and on, and on, and on… I’ve never seen so many robes.
We got bored. I was reminded for the first time in decades of the specific flavour of boredom I experienced when my parents took me to church (Anglican Church of Canada) as a young boy. (None of us were particularly enthusiastic about it. I stopped going around age 11, after trying out for the choir, then saying to my mom, “I cannot sing something I don’t believe in.”)
It was interesting to see the glimpses of other cultures and religions peeping hesitantly into the ancient ceremony.
Then things started to become hilarious. Mike said the State Coach with the King inside could properly be described as a “chuckwagon”. We speculated about how it would do in the chuckwagon races at the Calgary Stampede. (Consensus: poorly.) Carol noted that the fur worn by the royals looked rather old and tattered. We noticed that the feather in the hat worn by Princess Anne somehow seemed strategically placed to block the view of Prince Harry’s face.
During the procession afterwards, the awkward motion and suspension of the passenger compartment on the State Coach was very apparent. Evidently it is quite uncomfortable to ride in. We spotted the flags of the Commonwealth Realms interspersed among the Royal Union flags along The Mall.
All in all, to me it feels increasingly irrelevant to Canada. The generation that remembers the War and the close British ties is going or gone. It’s time for something new. But there is no consensus on what, or even a strong public discussion about the issue yet. Maybe in a couple of years…
American here. I didn’t watch because I forgot at the time when it was happening, and nothing I was doing reminded me until it was too late. I will probably try to find some notable clips (ideally with commentary), but see no reason to watch the entire thing after the fact.
American. Attended a coronation lunch. I provided cucumber sandwiches and chicken salad on croissants. We also had scones with clotted cream and jam, and bakery cookies. The host wisely recorded the ceremony so we didn’t have get up at dark o’clock. I found the ceremony moving. Last year we went to London for the Jubilee. Wish we had gone for the coronation.
I voted as having watched, though I haven’t yet. Recorded BBC America’s coverage and will watch it in pieces throughout the week.
Didn’t watch, had no idea it was happening and wouldn’t have watched if I had known.
Why do you say it won’t happen again for 20-30 years? I’d be very surprised if he makes it 20 years and shocked if he makes it 30.
The Gold State Coach was used for this bit. Other monarchs have complained about how uncomfortable it is. The Australian State Coach used for the outward journey was constructed on more modern principles and even has air-con.
Oh, that does it. What’s the world coming to? Glad I gave it a miss.
Australian, didn’t watch and haven’t seen any clips either. Read a text report on our ABC website, but that’ it. Staunch republican here, and while occasionally I will tune into some ‘royal’ news, for the most part, it’s utterly irrelevant to me.