2023-05-08 01:03:44
A grand concert, featuring stars like Katy Perry and Lionel Richie and impressive lighting, took place outside Windsor Castle on Sunday evening to celebrate the historic coronation the day before of King Charles III and Queen Camilla .
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British flag in hand, about 20,000 spectators gathered in front of the castle, which is west of London, to attend this concert, broadcast, according to the organizers, in more than a hundred countries.
Charles and Camilla, smiling, flag in hand too, were in the gallery with several members of the royal family, including William and Kate and their children George and Charlotte.
AFP
The Prince of Wales, William, went on stage to pay tribute to his father and had a few words for his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September, who would be a “very proud mother”.
“Dad, we are all so proud of you,” the heir to the throne said. “For more than 50 years, across the UK, the Commonwealth and the world, he (Charles, editor’s note) has dedicated himself to serving others, current and future generations.”
The evening was hosted by actor Hugh Bonneville, best known for his role in the series Downton Abbey, which recounts the adventures of an aristocratic family and their servants at the beginning of the 20th century.
Americans Lionel Richie and Katy Perry performed some of their hits. The group Take That and the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli were also on the bill.
The evening was marked by impressive illuminations on the castle where the flags of the Commonwealth countries were projected. In the sky, lighting using drones represented butterfly, bee, whale, flowers, in homage to the king’s passion for nature.
AFP
A touch of humour: A video of Tom Cruise piloting a plane was released, in which the actor says: “From pilot to pilot. Your Majesty, you can be my teammate at any time.”
Caroline Mcdonough, a 53-year-old spectator, was very enthusiastic at the end of the concert: “It was a unique experience. (…) People really had fun.”
Sunday was also marked by “big lunches” and neighborhood parties across the country. More than 67,000 events have been recorded.
“It’s the perfect way to celebrate the event,” rejoiced AFP Annette Cathcart, who participated in a lunch organized in Ashley Green, in the south of England.
But more than 70% of Britons, unmotivated by the coronation, had no intention of taking part in any celebration, according to a recent YouGov poll.
On Monday, a public holiday granted especially for the coronation, the British were encouraged to take part in voluntary actions.
Buckingham Palace released a statement on Sunday saying Charles and Camilla were “deeply touched” and “deeply grateful to all who helped make this such a glorious moment”.
Saturday’s London coronation of Charles III featured a lavish religious ceremony and procession, with all the pomp associated with grand events in the monarchy.
Eight months after his accession to the throne on the death of his mother Elizabeth II, Charles III, who is 74, was crowned at Westminster Abbey in front of 2,300 guests according to a thousand-year-old Anglican rite, modernized at the margin. His 75-year-old wife Camilla was also blessed and crowned.
It was the first coronation for 70 years, when Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953.
More than 14 million viewers watched live on the BBC as Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the first dignitary of the Anglican religion, placed the heavy crown of St Edward on Charles’s head.
But, by comparison, there were 31 million watching Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997 on the BBC and ITV.
Charles is less popular than his mother Elizabeth II, and anti-monarchists demonstrated on Saturday in London as the carriages passed, as well as in Scotland and Wales. Some 15% of Britons think the monarchy should be abolished.
Six officials of the anti-monarchy group Republic, including its leader Graham Smith, were arrested by police on Saturday morning, drawing heavy criticism.
They were released on Saturday evening.
“Make no mistake about it. The right to peaceful protest no longer exists in the UK,” Graham Smith tweeted.
In total, police said they arrested 52 people on Saturday “for disturbing public order, breaching the peace and conspiring to cause a public nuisance around the coronation.”
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