Coronation of Charles and Camilla
New documentary provides funny insights
Charles and Camilla during the coronation ceremony on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London.
© imago images/i Images
A new BBC documentary shows the British royal family behind the scenes. There are funny scenes surrounding the coronation.
The Coronation of King Charles III (75) and Queen Camilla (76) was a state event and THE royal highlight in 2023. But behind the scenes there was a lot of fun, as a BBC documentary about the monarch’s first year of reign shows, which was broadcast on Boxing Day becomes. Like British media like “Sky News” and “Daily Mail” As we have already reported in advance, viewers can expect some humorous and human scenes relating to the coronation on May 6th in the 90-minute film.
Charles “flies” with his robe
The major event in London’s Westminster Abbey had been meticulously rehearsed in advance. The camera team also captured this impressively, as a trailer shows. Despite all the tension leading up to the big day, Charles hasn’t lost his sense of humor. For example, there is a special moment in which he spreads his noble royal robes like wings in Buckingham Palace and declares: “I can fly.” Another scene shows him sitting in the coronation chair in a suit and tie during a rehearsal at Westminster Abbey. He can also be seen laughing and joking with his wife during dress rehearsals. There was also a good mood when practicing with Prince William (42). So the heir to the throne laughed as he tried to put the robes on his father. At one point, Charles whispered, “I’m fine…almost.”
Text glitch from the Archbishop
The king also had to laugh when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, forgot part of the liturgy – the prayers and actions of the coronation service. “I have a memory that’s probably about as good as our spaniel’s,” the clergyman later confessed. “In other words, zero.” Charles wasn’t annoyed by that, instead he nodded understandingly and smiled.
Camilla admonishes the pages
The King and Queen rehearsed over and over again at Buckingham Palace how to walk to the coronation altar in their elaborate and heavy robes. Camilla warned her pages: “Don’t step on my dress.” As she prepared to leave for church on coronation day, she reminded her grandchildren and great-nephews to walk slowly through Westminster Abbey. Surrounded by the pages, she finally said with a laugh: “Here we are with all the boys.”
Applause for the crowned heads
The film also reveals that the newly crowned royal couple received applause from the staff upon their return to the palace. There were three cheers for Charles and Camilla. Annabel Elliot, 74, the Queen’s younger sister, describes how “surreal” it was to see the couple drive away after her coronation in the Gold State Coach. She remembered as a two-year-old “watching the Queen’s coronation on a tiny black and white television and there was this gold carriage with my sister in it.”
Relief after the ceremony
Annabel Elliot is also the one who spills the beans about the immense tension that fell away from Charles and Camilla after the ceremony: “Coming back to Buckingham Palace, what a relief. It’s done and it was great. It was a kind of ‘phew’ a moment like taking off your shoes.” Perhaps it is this feeling that led Camilla to make funny facial expressions in a more private setting at Buckingham Palace: After being cheered by the staff, the Queen puffed out her cheeks.
You don’t usually see scenes like this. But for the BBC documentary “Charles III: The Coronation Year”, the royal family was accompanied in a number of more private moments for a year. The film will be shown on BBC One on December 26th from 6:50pm UK time. As “BBC” announced, camera crews were given access to the new royal couple in the run-up to the coronation and in the months that followed. The 90-minute documentary is narrated by actress Helena Bonham Carter (57), who stars in the Netflix series “The Crown”. played the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret (1930-2002). But it’s not the first time the royal family has allowed television cameras direct access to their everyday lives – Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip allowed the BBC and ITV in 1969, filming a documentary behind the scenes.