Man in Hat sits on Chair - Charles is Officially Blinged

I have mixed feelings about this Coronation marlarkey. 

I'm not a Royalist, and the fuss and public expense of the thing, (which has apparently cost us around £100M)  at a time when record numbers of people are relying on foodbanks, the NHS is on its knees,  and with all the other issues we have,  grates somewhat, as does the sycophantic approach of the media and the assumption that this is something we are all excited about or united by. 

I happened to be on London the weekend before the coronation, and the displays seems a bit excessive and slightly embarrassing.

View from Piccadilly Circus along Piccadilly

That said, my tolerance for small, locally sourced events is rather higher.  Partly, I think, because it mostly (At least where I live) to be small scale and to be things which local people have organised, rather than anything imposed from outside, and they have a slightly endearing amateur flavour. 

I like that it is giving people the opportunity to make their own art and celebrations - we have a group in the village who make knitted / crocheted  displays for the bridge over the stream, and while I liked the little crocheted chicks they did at easter best, they have clearly enjoyed themselves with their coronation display!

Cardboard and crochet fence decoration

Equally, I don't begrudge the fact that the Parish Council has spent a little money on some bunting (and hideous banners featuring poor choices of font and and a more-than-usually unflattering photograph of the king) - there seem to be a fair number of people who want to go to the coronation picnic, even if they would probably be equally happy to go to a non-coronation picnic with bouncy castles and cream teas. I don't have the slightest desire to join in, but I don't mind others doing so! 

Not excessive at all, obviously...

I was visiting my parents, and we did watch most of the ceremony.  I have to admit, the sheer ridiculous theatricality of the actual ceremony, and the history of it, is quite interesting. It hadn't occurred to me that he would actually sign the coronation oath, for instance, and the solemn presentation and return of things such as the spurs, the swords and so on was quite bizarre. (Apparently no one knows, any longer, what the origin of the armills (bracelets) is, and although they were remade for Charles II's coronation as (like most of the regalia, the originals were lost after the civil war) they weren't actually used then, or at any further coronations until now, although they are apparently mentioned in the traditional service!) 

It's all totally bonkers.

Man in hat sits on chair

 My parents continue to be active bellringers, and I do it for special events like family weddings. As with the Queen's funeral, there was an intention to have as many churches as possible have ringing for the Coronation, and as, unlike the funeral, there was time to plan, the Central Council of Church Bellringers ran a campaign 'Ring for the King' to try to attract new ringers for the event, so lots of people have been learning to ring for the first time. 

In my parents village, the ringing was scheduled to be at 3 p.m., partly as the church had been set up with a big screen so that those who wanted could watch the coronation there, with refreshments, and partly as at least one of the regular ringers wanted to join in but had to work. Which worked out quite well, as it meant that we had plenty of time to watch the show, have lunch and then amble down to the church. 

Decorations outside the church

The church and church hall had been decorated (I think there was going to be street party, and the regular pop-up pub, on the Sunday, hence all the bunting) - I particularly liked the efforts made in the church by the flower arrangers!

Flowery crown!

We rang Rounds and Call Changes - including the 'Coronation Peal'  (Not an actual peal, but a specific set of calls designed for the coronation) 

Which went pretty well.

After which , we went back home and, a little later, enjoyed some home made scones and cream, purely on the basis that a member of the family commented on FB that they'd done so, and it seemed like a good idea!

My parents, both of whom are old enough to have been around for the last coronation (and had comments to make about the commentators wittering on about 'once in a lifetime' events) did have a few comments to make about their memories - both were pretty young - my dad remembers going to a neighbour's house to watch it on television, (And the television, rather than the event, being the exciting part!) and then being taken to the cinema to watch it in colour a few weeks later.  He also did rather well on the souvenir front, being bought a die-cast model of the coach and horses (it apparently came in different sizes and prices, depending on how deep the pockets of your friends or family were - his was the smallest size, and is now rather battered, having been played with over the years!)  and also a souvenir commemorative coin, with a rather less flattering portrait than the one on the real currency! 

My mother was given a souvenir bible, although whether these were given to all children, or if it was through her local church or Sunday School, isn't entirely clear. It was  certainly presented, rather than being bought as a souvenir like the things my dad has, as it's definitely not  the kind of thing which my grandparents would have bought for her!

All together, a rather odd day, to say the least!

The Ceremony of the Keys, Tower of London

 So, on Friday evening I was in London to go to the Ceremony of the Keys , at the Tower of London. 

The Tower of London by Night

The Tower of London is of course the worlds best known combined bird house and safety deposit box, housing, at it doesn, some very pampered ravens and the Crown Jewels. 

There was a Roman wall and other structures there (and there are still some remains of the Roman wall nearby, by the Underground Station) , the WIlliam the Bastard had a castle built there in 1066, in the style known, I believe, as 'Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough, Saxon losers'. Various other bits and pieces have been added since, mostly between the 11th and 16th Centuries. It's still officially a Royal Palace (although not a Royal Residence)  and of course is ope as a tourist attraction during the day. 

However, after it is closed for the night, you can still, if you have snagged a ticket, attend the ceremony of the keys. THis is something (the ceremony, not the ticketed attendance) which has been going on for the last 700 years. Allegedly, King Edward III turned up unannounced at the Tower one evening in 1340 and was able to walk in, unchallenged, and was a bit miffed at the lack of proper security (Presumably it did not occur to him that, just possibly, someone did recognise him and decided that demanding that the King explain what he was doing snaking into his own castle at night was not a wise career move) 

Anyway, he apparently decreed that the fortress must be properly locked up at sunset, and unlocked in the morning. It's not recorded whether he also made any rules about putting the cat out.

And so, ever since, there has been a ceremony every night (as far as I can tell, the unlocking in the morning is rather less formal!) 

The Duke of Wellington, who was the Constable of Tower in 1826, changed the timing to provide for the ceremony to take place at 10 p.m. every night, rather than 'sunset', and that's what's happened ever since. (It was slightly delayed once in 1940 when a bomb fell on the tower, but hasn't been missed)

You aren't allowed to take photos, so this one is from the official website

You have to book ahead - the tickets are only £5.50 each but there are only a relatively small number, and they have to be booked in advance.

I arrived at the Tower at about 9.15 - the tickets are very firm that you must be on time, and no latecomers will be admitted, so I wanted to be sure I was a bit early. So, there was a bit of hanging about outside the (locked) gares, then just before 9.30, a Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) wearing a long, red, 'guard coat' (rather than the tudor dress you see in the Yeomen in when they are on duty in the day) came up to the gate to let us in, ticking us all off on a list, and we were then let in through the gates. I think there were maybe 30-40 of us.

'Our' Yeoman then explained that we were not permitted to have phones on or to take photos during the ceremony, before taking us across the moat and giving us a brief history ot the tower and then an explanation of the timing and sequence of the ceremony, before leading us further in.

We were then let further in, where we waited by Traitor's Gate and he went off with a bunch of keys..

Then a group of four soldiers showed up, from the inner ward - One (1) officer with drawn sword, 2 (2) normal soldiers with big guns, and one (1) drummer (with no drum) there to carry a lantern, which contains a candle, because dammit, just because the place has multiple electric lights is no reason to change the habits of 700 years. 

One of the Yeoman (not our guide, a different one, wearing a proper Tudor bonnet) falls in with them, or they with him, and marches off to lock the outer gates, then they came marching back, with our Yeoman following on behind, and at this point, a single sentry came out to challenge them - the whole "Who comes there?" "The Keys" "Whose Keys?" "King Charles' Keys"  "Pass, King Charles' keys, All's well"

Then they march through the gateway and to the Broadwalk stairs, where there are a whole lot more soldiers, there's some presenting arms, and a "God preserve King Charles" by the  Yeoman, then (at 10 p.m.) the Last Post is sounded, after which  all the soldiers fall out and wander off. 

THat's the end of the ceremony, but the guide then gave us a little more information and answered questions, before escorting us out (through the wicket gates, if you are wondering. Presumably they don't require such ceremonial locking up!) 

The whole experience was interesting, and slightly weird. I'm glad I went, but also glad I had other things planned for the weekend, it would have been a bit disappointing if I'd  made a trip solely to see it.

If you want to go, you have to book ahead, via the Historic Royal Palaces website - tickets go on sale at the beginning of each month, and sell out pretty fast.