i watched none of it but now i am sorry i missed the ritual part of it featuring the holy hand grenade of antioch
I recorded it, and watched it in installments over the last couple of days.
As a Yank, my view of European aristocrats is like a kid at the circus. “Hey, Ma! Look at the funny animals! Can I have one? I promise to feed it.”
Royal scandals are more entertaining than presidential scandals. Berlusconi tried, but he’s just not in the same league as the Windsors.
I forgot about that bit.
“Five is right out!” 
My wife was watching it. I heard it in the bacground as I ate breakfast, and watched maybe 5 minutes before heading out.
What impressed me the most was all the talk about how he is divinely granted all these powers. Made me wonder how many people - including he - believed that. Just hearing that over-the-top ridiculous language lowered my opinion of the monarchy even more.
I watched the middle part of the broadcast - the ceremony itself with all the swords and gloves and rings and books and precious bric-a-brac being presented, and the coronation part itself. I had some work to do so I dipped out after that.
I voted “Commonwealth citizen and watched it”, although that may give the wrong impression. Yes, Chuck is officially King of Canada just like his mom was Queen, though she was much more respected, but nobody really much cared then and even fewer care now. I watched it mostly out of a mix of curiosity and amusement. The amount of religious and symbolic magical claptrap involved was amazing. I suspect that Charles has a sufficient grounding in reality that he must have found at least some of it downright embarrassing. Tradition is a strong force, but this may well be the last such ostentatious ceremony we’ll ever witness. This isn’t 1727 any more.
If it had been on at a time that was convenient, and i didn’t have anything else to do, i might have tuned in for a bit. I certainly wasn’t going to wake up early to see it.
I was fascinated by the oaths and homage…thinking that 500 years ago it was of vital importance that the other nobility swear that they really truly do acknowledge the new king, and swear to be his liege man.
And how, after 100 years of alternating Catholics and Protestants burning each other at the stake they now make the monarch pinky-swear that he really really is a Protestant.
Re: All this talk of the Derby and watching animals. C’mon, Camilla isn’t all that ugly.
I tuned in when I woke up (a bit later than usual) The ceremony was almost over, had the parade on while I did my morning internet stuff (email, comics, here, play my turns on online board games I am playing, etc)
Occasionally looking at the screen but not playing close attention
Later I watched the ceremony up until the actual crowning of C3 on BBC youtube.
I marveled at how long Penny Mordaunt held the sword, but later it looked like she had a neck holster
I’m against monarchy in general, but it is a lot easier to not care when it doesn’t affect me. Plus I th9ought the ceremony was in general impressive.
Brian
Forgot to say: Apparently someone saw to it that the former PMs entered the Abbey in the same order that they served. Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron, May, Johnson and Truss. (Right?)
I didn’t watch it, but I’ve heard from a number of people that I missed some great music.
I chose “no” because I did not watch “a majority” per the description of the poll. However, the coronation was on the TV in our house because my wife was interested in the pageantry and was curious about which celebrities made the invitation cut, so I did see bits and pieces here and there.
Every time I walked by, there was something ridiculous and bizarrely medieval happening, and it was all performed with the most hilarious level of solemnity. The announcer would be saying in a hushed reverential tone, “And now, His Majesty will don the Crimson Robe of Saint Roland of Stoat-Upon-Nettle and take the left-handed blessing of the Crystalline Shackled Unicorn,” and then the handlers would drape five layers of ostentatiously heavy fabric (none of which is crimson) around Charles and he would shuffle slowly toward an iron frame on which a small tapestry is hanging (whose design does not appear to show a unicorn, or shackles, or crystals) and then someone hands him an iron turtle with a candle in its mouth, and he shuffles very slowly three times around the frame with the tapestry while the brass section vamps a turgid hymn, and then he goes back to his seat, and then the next bit of business is prepared. A couple of times when I walked by and saw something like this, I was unable to suppress a snicker, so eventually my wife acknowledged it was all just too silly to take seriously and turned it off.
But I did see some of it, just for full disclosure.
I’m just disappointed they didn’t use a censer.
Didn’t you realise the point of the bit in the oath-taking about “maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law”?
A censer* would be far too Popish.
*“Love the frock, but did you know your handbag’s on fire?”
I’ve been to Catholic services that were less Popish than the coronation was.
Yes indeed, this was the main reason I watched and the part I enjoyed most by far. Lots of excellent choices and performances. I wonder if there is/will be a recording available of just the music?
I guess that the crowd doesn’t smell that bad these days. Isn’t it a bit Catholic as well?
The Church of England is not really Protestant – it is itself. It styles itself the “middle way” between Protestantism and Catholicism. Liturgically and theologically it is quite similar to The Holy Mother Church; the differences are mainly in politics – there is no pope, individual dioceses and also parishes have a great deal more autonomy than in the RCC. In developed countries at any rate, they are typically one of the most liberal churches in terms of such things as married, female, and gay clergy (my own vicar is all three) and other policies. It is up to each parish to decide how High Church, Low Church, or Broad Church they choose to be. I’m sure that a royal coronation would be High Church (most Catholic-style). Incense totally okay.
It’s drummed into us at an early age :-
“The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
God made them, high and lowly,
And ordered their estate.”
Depends on who pays the royalties. 
I’ll see myself out…