But I had no shortage of time to work it out given I was seated in Westminster Abbey by 7.30am.
I wondered how badly time would drag given it didn’t start until 11am.
By 9am, the choir and orchestra began to play, and that was your first treat of the day. The sound in the Abbey is astonishing.
I was seated with members of the House of Lords and various judges who were wearing their wigs, which made me wonder whether that was the reason the King chose May for the coronation.
Because despite the weather, which started out mild and fine but turned to a bit of rain, the Abbey is warm and I am assuming by mid-June it could well be hot. There was a lot of heavy cloaking, and that’s before we get to the crowns.
/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/DF33U5HOTVFSVFNBGDEK5FZD3M.jpg)
King Charles III kneels during the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London.
The odd thing about the Abbey is for most people you can’t actually see a thing. Between the walls and pillars and various religious paraphernalia, it’s really a collection of nooks and crannies.
I was lucky. I was seated directly next to where some of history’s greatest names are buried - Newton, Darwin, Dickens, Chaucer.
My eyeline met the Royal Family on the other side. At its closest point the King and Queen were no more than 30 metres from me.
Those like UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who had major parts walked directly in front of me (he is even smaller than you thought).
In a sense it seemed unfair, as I wandered off to the toilet after about three hours of waiting inside. I walked past the good and the great who had seats at the entrance to the Abbey. I couldn’t believe how close our little media group were and how small a contingent it was - just 27 of us.
For those further back, once they’d watched the heavyweight arrivals walk past them, that would be the end of being able to see anything. That is until it was all over and those same people walked out.
That was the overarching mood of the day. Everyone knew viewing in some way, shape or form would be restricted. But it was the “being there” that counted.
You were a witness to history, and unlike so many events these days this one was rare.
Virtually no one would have seen or been at the last one, so it had a character of uniqueness to it.
We all felt privileged.
There were so many famous people, spotting them ran the risk of being boring.
There was a buzz when Prince Harry arrived. I thought he looked sort of lost. He was with other family but in that ‘we put him with the cousins’ sort of way. His seat was not as bad as some media had suggested, but even he spent a decent chunk of the ceremony looking at the screen given the viewing restrictions, not to mention Princess Anne’s hat in front of him.
Prince William is tall, way taller than the rest of them. If I were to pick a highlight, his oath on bended knee in front of his father was very touching.
I am probably being unfair, but musically the Ascension Choir brought not just diversity but an amazing life to the Abbey.
TV hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly, who are known in New Zealand but amazingly popular in Britain, got a cheer and a lot of clapping when they arrived. They won the prize for the biggest reaction, although the Royal Family received applause as they left.
We had seen Dec in Savile Row earlier in the week. He was going into the same place we were coming out of, having bought a pocket square. It’s a place called Drakes which is for the “edgier dresser”, I am told.
At the Abbey we got given a ticket to enter and a copy of the order of service. Strict instructions came with that - one copy per person, no excuses. Apparently something went awry at the Queen’s funeral so they’d tightened up on that. Both mementos of this major occasion.
The odd thing about being inside the event is that you miss the outside action. The King, I was told, was on his way, but we wouldn’t have known that sitting in the Abbey. The first we saw was when the carriage pulled up.
The bells that were tolling could barely be heard inside, and part way through when the crown was placed on the royal head (I thought the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gave it a bit too much pressure, and did it twice, plus it’s not light) cannon fire was let off from various parts of Britain. We couldn’t hear that either.
People were impeccably dressed and impeccably polite, it seemed everyone knew how lucky they were. No matter who you were or where you came from, you were all equal for a couple of hours.
I thought that again as I wandered out a side door at the end.
Former US Secretary of State John Kerry was standing next to me. He was by himself for a while we exchanged pleasantries, before he took a phone call.
Actor Joanna Lumley wandered out. I shook her hand and told her who I was given we’ve talked a number of times for interviews. She said she remembered (regardless whether she did) but like everyone else she was astonishingly lovely.
Standing outside the Abbey, I then turned and realised the gold carriage the King and Queen were leaving in was just across the lawn, beyond the small fence that surrounds the church.
I had a spectacular view inside. I had an even better one outside. The carriage went past, off to the Palace for the balcony wave.
Just like that it was over.
We filed out, through the security tent that had been abandoned, across Lambeth Bridge where several hours earlier I had said hello to Stephen Fry waiting in line, and into a taxi whose driver told me I didn’t have a hope in hell of getting back to the hotel because every central road was shut.
I just made it back in time to see live pictures of the Mall, the royal wave and the fly by.
It’s one of those moments you think “how long would you walk for, how long would you wait for, how much security can you endure, how many crowds do you want to battle?”.
The answer is all of it and more.
I love the royals so I’m a paid-up member. But even the most hardened republican would have had trouble in the Abbey not seeing the overwhelming history, power, influence and consistency of the monarchy.
Two hours that live forever.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings
King Charles III kneels during the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London.The odd thing about the Abbey is for most people you can’t actually see a thing. Between the walls and pillars and various religious paraphernalia, it’s really a collection of nooks and crannies.
I was lucky. I was seated directly next to where some of history’s greatest names are buried - Newton, Darwin, Dickens, Chaucer.
My eyeline met the Royal Family on the other side. At its closest point the King and Queen were no more than 30 metres from me.
Those like UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who had major parts walked directly in front of me (he is even smaller than you thought).
/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/Y65D5KHUZFCUFMJZWXXPES53AQ.jpg)
In a sense it seemed unfair, as I wandered off to the toilet after about three hours of waiting inside. I walked past the good and the great who had seats at the entrance to the Abbey. I couldn’t believe how close our little media group were and how small a contingent it was - just 27 of us.
For those further back, once they’d watched the heavyweight arrivals walk past them, that would be the end of being able to see anything. That is until it was all over and those same people walked out.
That was the overarching mood of the day. Everyone knew viewing in some way, shape or form would be restricted. But it was the “being there” that counted.
You were a witness to history, and unlike so many events these days this one was rare.
/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/E45PUSHJ45FD5DD27MR3P5WBQY.jpg)
Virtually no one would have seen or been at the last one, so it had a character of uniqueness to it.
We all felt privileged.
There were so many famous people, spotting them ran the risk of being boring.
There was a buzz when Prince Harry arrived. I thought he looked sort of lost. He was with other family but in that ‘we put him with the cousins’ sort of way. His seat was not as bad as some media had suggested, but even he spent a decent chunk of the ceremony looking at the screen given the viewing restrictions, not to mention Princess Anne’s hat in front of him.
/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/UE2CBPAJGNDDNCRUWDSABAQQT4.jpg)
Prince William is tall, way taller than the rest of them. If I were to pick a highlight, his oath on bended knee in front of his father was very touching.
I am probably being unfair, but musically the Ascension Choir brought not just diversity but an amazing life to the Abbey.
TV hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly, who are known in New Zealand but amazingly popular in Britain, got a cheer and a lot of clapping when they arrived. They won the prize for the biggest reaction, although the Royal Family received applause as they left.
We had seen Dec in Savile Row earlier in the week. He was going into the same place we were coming out of, having bought a pocket square. It’s a place called Drakes which is for the “edgier dresser”, I am told.
At the Abbey we got given a ticket to enter and a copy of the order of service. Strict instructions came with that - one copy per person, no excuses. Apparently something went awry at the Queen’s funeral so they’d tightened up on that. Both mementos of this major occasion.
/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/EKZTBIZBTVA6RLS2OQCHWVU2EE.jpg)
The odd thing about being inside the event is that you miss the outside action. The King, I was told, was on his way, but we wouldn’t have known that sitting in the Abbey. The first we saw was when the carriage pulled up.
The bells that were tolling could barely be heard inside, and part way through when the crown was placed on the royal head (I thought the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gave it a bit too much pressure, and did it twice, plus it’s not light) cannon fire was let off from various parts of Britain. We couldn’t hear that either.
People were impeccably dressed and impeccably polite, it seemed everyone knew how lucky they were. No matter who you were or where you came from, you were all equal for a couple of hours.
I thought that again as I wandered out a side door at the end.
Former US Secretary of State John Kerry was standing next to me. He was by himself for a while we exchanged pleasantries, before he took a phone call.
Actor Joanna Lumley wandered out. I shook her hand and told her who I was given we’ve talked a number of times for interviews. She said she remembered (regardless whether she did) but like everyone else she was astonishingly lovely.
/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/TJCZKCHW6RDM3ADKFUSNHCJRZQ.png)
Standing outside the Abbey, I then turned and realised the gold carriage the King and Queen were leaving in was just across the lawn, beyond the small fence that surrounds the church.
I had a spectacular view inside. I had an even better one outside. The carriage went past, off to the Palace for the balcony wave.
Just like that it was over.
We filed out, through the security tent that had been abandoned, across Lambeth Bridge where several hours earlier I had said hello to Stephen Fry waiting in line, and into a taxi whose driver told me I didn’t have a hope in hell of getting back to the hotel because every central road was shut.
I just made it back in time to see live pictures of the Mall, the royal wave and the fly by.
It’s one of those moments you think “how long would you walk for, how long would you wait for, how much security can you endure, how many crowds do you want to battle?”.
/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/DK2T2L5AWNANRCUNDCLYUFY6W4.jpg)
The answer is all of it and more.
I love the royals so I’m a paid-up member. But even the most hardened republican would have had trouble in the Abbey not seeing the overwhelming history, power, influence and consistency of the monarchy.
Two hours that live forever.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings
12 comments:
Very insightful and lovely attention to detail. As you say, even a republication would (should) have enjoyed the spectacle.
Woke hypocrisy is certainly not limited to celebrities - how many self-proclaimed climate warriors & income equality advocates flew in for this on private jet & got new clothes for the occasion? Not to mention the £100m or more that will have been spent on this so-called scaled back 3-day affair when the UK, like NZ, is in a huge cost of living crisis. Not to mention the affront of having such an appalling person be proclaimed has having been appointed by God to trough off hard working citizens. Not likely!! The least the adulterer could have done was pay for it himself. It is ridiculous the UK taxpayer is still propping up this socialist fairytale & then be made to feel grateful because they come & shake your hand after you’ve been standing in the rain for hours, hoping to get a glimpse of these well-heeled but illiterate members of society. If you don’t believe in benefits being a lifestyle then you certainly shouldn’t believe in this. A working royal is an oxymoron. They have made a fortune off the genuine worker, it’s time they paid for this ostentatious lifestyle themselves. They can certainly afford it.
P.S if you don’t agree with me, just ask yourself, how many golden sticks, golden orbs, golden plates, crowns, special gloves & special robes did Jesus need to be recognised as the Son of God? NONE. That’s what, NONE. You don’t have to be religious to recognise such rank hypocrisy!
At least Capitalists are honest about their beliefs - that they deserve the financial rewards of their hard work, risk & imagination. The Monarchy is the opposite of this, even if we all loved Lady Diana & Mike’s awesome suit & cool shoes!
Clothes /costunme are a key political sign.
Mr Hipkins, by wearing a lounge suit without a cloak , would have indicated a bi-cultural nation.
By wearing a Maori cloak, the message was the clear superiority of this culture over all others in the country.
People should note this fact - which should be explained politically
Well said Anonymous !!
Anonymous - what a sad miserable person you are.
I suppose you adored Diana? The third person in Charles and Camilla’s extraordinary love affair?
I suppose you are critical of Charles when he was upset at a careless bureaucrat handing him a leaky pen to sign historic documents all while under extraordinary performance pressure when his mother had just died? I would like to see you handle the pressure with the world’s tv cameras in your place.
And Chipkins with his feathered cloak representing indigenous people! Clearly not representing the Māoris. And I wonder if any one checked with the birds on use of their feathers?
Anyway, rest assured you glum chum and friends: you will soon have your very own apartheid based oligarchy which will be better than anything else the world has to offer - including the sins of the world. Enjoy.
Anonymous you are a glum chum.
I suppose you have never traveled for pleasure or family.
I suppose you have fewer sins and more integrity than the king?
I assume you adored Diana, the third person in the long and remarkable love affair of Charles and Camilla?
I assume you admired Chipkins in his feathered cloak of the proclaimed indigenous people of NZ? The Maori are most certainly not indigenous. And I doubt any one asked the birds for use of their feathers - how ecologically insensitive.
I presume you pay homage to the stars of Matariki and gladly pay your taxes so the whanau can apply for grants to party.
No doubt you applaud the extraordinary tax free payments extorted by the rich and powerful Maori elites from the tax payer in the guise of compensation, health, child care, fisheries, airwaves … or whatever the current golden goose might be - dipping in the golden pond, we might say.
And I guess you will take great pride and joy in the looming apartheid based oligarchy and repression of freedom of thought land expression. Not to mention the distortion of history. You no doubt enjoy the propoganda masquerading as Maori arts and crafts, sponsored by Te Mangai Paho.
So let me not dissuade you from your righteousness but I do suggest you look in the sinking waka formerly known as New Zealand.
Good luck King Charles III.
What great tv views the world bought and paid for on Saturday night.
If Mike had ben bored during the waiting he could have whiled away the hours by imagining decolonisation, as presumably the maori contingent did. They presumably tuned out all the grand music and dreamed of kapahaka.
Mike, your article is an insightful departure from the crass doom and gloom of the "sky is falling" brigade. You were there, and reading your article, felt I was there too. The Maori King and his wife saw fit to attend and pay their respects, offer their gifts and accolades. Would the naysayers and nasties tear down Jesus Himself to score points for mediocrity? The Coronation was spectacular, moving and overwhelmingly reassuring. Warm fuzzies all round.
History was made, and we were there. Thank you Mike Hosking.
Hard to keep some of the people happy all of the time, athough some of the people are never happy any of the time. Me I'm just happy. God Save the King.
Fantastic Mike
You made me feel like a frog in a sock, as excited as you!!
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