I had a very busy week spending some days overseas and taking care of toddlers – but I managed to find some time for this blog post – and for you, dear reader.
I have been writing Venice blog posts recently, but today it’s something different!
In the last few weeks, the British Royal Family went through perils due to the continuous parade of (former) Prince Andrew headlines, which also caught my attention.
As a monarchist at heart, I have been closely following all the developments on this matter and wish everything goes well for the Firm.
In times as dark as these, it always helps to remember happier days like the coronation party and the street vibes, which I was privileged to experience as a tourist. It helps feel happy and bring up some mood.
Here’s my blog post about the coronation weekend back in May 2023.
It all started while visiting someone in London in 2023 – I was there only over the long weekend and entered Westminster Abbey on my last full day there. It was just a few days after NYE and the New Year’s celebrations, with light tourist traffic at the Abbey.
Absolutely stunning Westminster Abbey
Bishops volunteered their time to chat with tourists like me. I approached one of them, and we started chatting about this and that. Then I asked the bishop if Westminster would host the coronation in the upcoming May.
He said yes. Then I asked him about the limited accommodation (potentially) and the huge costs for that. The bishop then suggested staying in the suburbs, like Oxford, and taking trains to/from London to experience the coronation week.
I ended up ignoring his advice and stayed in London – to be exact, in a lovely Airbnb located in Lewisham. Despite my arrival at an ungodly hour, the host (a lovely, bubbly lady with five children and pets) opened the door for me, and had a good chat with me before I went to bed for the day.
The next day, I attended an online lecture, then met the host’s daughter (also sweet and sociable like her mother – let’s call her Miriam), who acts as a housekeeper for her mommy. I then took the London Overground to the heart of London, then walked around Westminster and Piccadilly Circus.
Airbnb Cat on a carpet
It wasn’t my first time in London, but it had been a while for me. Yet this coronation weekend was all different – I was there one day before all the ceremonial stuff began. I had never experienced London’s vibe on a day like that – it was just special on the eve of the coronation.
The palaces were partly barricaded, and news reporters were shooting segments here and there. It was so much fun for me to be part of this historical moment, one the world hadn’t seen in the last 70 years.
On the Mall, I even saw people camping out for the night and claiming the best places to witness the processions the next day. Hats off to those putting up the tents, ready for the historic day – you might say they were like concert-goers camping out before the show starts!
Campers and their tents on the Mall. How long have they been there already..?
As night approached, I picked up some Too Good To Go meals for dinner and breakfast the next morning, then took the train back home. At my Airbnb, Miriam greeted me on my arrival, and I showed her a video of all the campers.
Miriam asked, a little surprised by the video, “Are you here for the coronation?” I, of course, said yes.
Maybe locals weren’t as enthusiastic about the coronation as she was – I was just a royal fan wanting to see this special event unfold before my eyes. That was my thought while chatting with Miriam.
I bid her goodnight for the day and went to bed very early.
Then my alarm went off at 6 a.m. I managed to catch the early morning train bound for central London, where all the coronation festivities unfolded.
On the train, a lovely lady and I chatted about the upcoming processions – she was a member of the London public transit staff who had taken the day off for the coronation. We even got to see Backingham Palace Guards queueing along over our train windows.
The Guards on the street so early in the morning
I got off at Charing Cross and set off to find a place to watch everything – it was around 6:30 in the morning, and the city was already full of people in all directions!
I managed to squeeze myself into the crowd at Trafalgar Square, which points toward the entrance to the Mall. I then started having my breakfast (a pack of sushi takeout I picked up the evening before) and waited for the procession to start.
It took me and all the other onlookers a few hours until the King and Queen, in their golden coach, passed us.
During our long wait, I got to speak to other onlookers who awaited the coach – a student also came solo to experience this special and historic event. Well-prepared press folks stood on high chairs to shoot the best moments.
The duel between royal fans and anti-royalists also ensued as we waited for the royal procession. I was standing on the royal fans’ side, so I heard “Hip-Hip-Hoorays” against “This is not my king.” Thankfully, no riots broke out and nobody got injured.
As more and more golden coaches passed us, some of us asked those with Union Jack–printed umbrellas to close them and not block our view. Thankfully, those Union Jack ladies did not object, and the umbrellas went down.
The golden coaches started showing up and people started holding their smartphones so high up also – awaiting the King and the Queen to pass by.
Finally, the moment we had all awaited came – the King and Queen were before us. With so many people standing (and my small-person problem), I couldn’t see them properly – hopefully, my video captured them somehow.
Their coach passed by in just a few seconds – and for those few seconds, we had all waited so many hours. For me, it was totally worth it! I was proud of myself for being able to be there.
Once all the coaches were gone, some of the people in my crowd discussed what was next.
I also discussed it with a daughter and mother standing next to me and showed them the timetable for the coronation day (it was actually a newspaper article I picked up from a stand the day before – which, of course, featured the full coronation program in the city). I guess the next one was the Trooping the Colour.
Sensing some people leaving, I said to them I was also leaving, as I was too tired to wait in the crowd (yes, I had been there since 6:30 a.m. – in the crowd for seven hours nonstop!). To that, the mother replied, “I’ll take your place then.”
Giving away my place to her, I finally left my Trafalgar crowd. I just roamed around and soaked up all the coronation vibes still lingering. Walking helped me process all that I saw at Trafalgar Square and let it sink in.
The streets were still full of people celebrating the day – the minimart I popped into even had some coronation merch. There I bought a Royal Family masquerade set featuring the King, the Queen, and the Prince and Princess of Wales. Walking past a street souvenir stall, I bought a fridge magnet featuring Charles III, which still sticks to my fridge today.
Even a bus stop was in the Coronation mood
I stopped by a suitcase store on Oxford Street where some comfy sofas invited me to sit for a while – there, a friendly shopkeeper spoke to me. “You just came back from the coronation procession?” he asked, surprised.
“For me, it was just a normal day – I study in London and work here part-time to pay my bills. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to take a day off today,” the shopkeeper continued.
Back at my Airbnb, Miriam echoed that sentiment too. “I missed the coronation festivities! I had to work today – is there some other coronation event tomorrow?” exclaimed Miriam as I showed her the procession video on my smartphone.
Seems to me like Londoners took the coronation day as just “part of daily life” – I did not sense the excitement like that of the campers on the Mall, or even my own excitement flying to London to be there for coronation week. For the locals, the coronation week was just another normal weekend, maybe.
I penned my coronation excitement on a Charles III postcard and went to bed again. The next morning, I placed that postcard into the postbox, hoping my recipient – a friend studying in Finland – would share in my excitement about the coronation week.
G. Thomas echoed my feeling at the Coronation Week in the form of this brilliant poem
Ryanair offered the “Coronation Deal” for the in-flight meal also
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