A stunning day of splendour and sacrament

THE organisers of the Coronation said it would be an “unforgettable spectacle”. This pledge was gloriously fulfilled on a day that mixed splendour and sacrament. From the start of the King’s procession to Westminster Abbey to the Red Arrows flypast over Buckingham Palace, the entire occasion was a model of precision, discipline and grandeur. Those in the congregation, in the crowds along the route and in the vast global television audience were witnesses to a unique moment in history.

- Leo McKinstry

The superbly executed pomp and pageantry demonstrated once again that Britain does ceremonial events better than any other nation on Earth. There could not have been a more powerful riposte to the fashionable belief that ours is a country in decline, irrelevant to the modern world.

On the contrary, the Coronation was an inspiring showcase of our enduring greatness, full of striking imagery, potent symbolism and heart-stirring sounds that resonated far beyond our kingdom.

“We need a bit of beauty in our lives,” said one royal fan who had travelled on a 22-hour flight all the way to London from her native Melbourne in Australia.

That is exactly what this memorable event provided. Beauty was captured in the moving, timeless liturgy of the service, in the pitch-perfect voices of the choirs, in the glistening helmets and breastplates of the Household Cavalry, and in the hallowed architecture of Westminster Abbey.

Neither the dampness over London nor a gaggle of Republican protesters in nearby Trafalgar Square could detract from the Coronation’s dazzling success. Indeed, the colour of military uniforms, the brilliance of the Crown jewels and the gold of the King’s robes reflected in the vestments of the priesthood was only emphasised by the grey skies above, just as the small number of anti-monarchist demonstrators highlighted how the overwhelming majority of British people still support the Crown.

It had also been planned, in a clumsy attempt at modernisation, to call on their public to express their homage to the King.