The one million-plus population of the West of England were represented at the Coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, 6th May by our region’s Metro Mayor Dan Norris who accepted the King and Queen’s invitation to attend. Metro Mayor Dan Norris recalls the event for The Journal:

The first coronation of a British monarch for seventy years drew an estimated one million people to London on a largely grey and drizzly day to watch history unfold.

Dan Norris was among the attendees watching on in Westminster Abbey itself as Charles and his Queen were crowned in a ceremony dating back over 1,000 years. The first monarch of all England - King Edgar - was crowned with his Queen back in 973AD on the site of Bath Abbey, illustrating another key way the West of England has shaped British history and tradition.

An early affair: Guests of the King and Queen started arriving from 7am - four hours before the ceremony was due to start. The whole area around the Abbey was buzzing with noise and expectation as representatives from 203 countries travelled to be there on the day along with 1,600 other guests.

“There was a lively atmosphere of people chatting as we were shown to our seats by the ushers. Complete strangers - all from different backgrounds - feeling like good friends because of the history we were about to witness. The time went quickly before the ceremony began,” said Dan Norris. 

“A serious ceremony”: The service opened at 11am and from the onset, the Metro Mayor, just 50 feet away from where the King and Queen were crowned, says it was clear just what an incredibly historic, rare - and significant - occasion this was.

“When we went in, we were given a programme which had the order of all the proceedings – the hymns, the readings, what the King was going to do and when, what everyone would say and so on.

“It was a serious occasion - with a real sense of formality. While everyone present was very nice and friendly, it was clearly a very solemn and sober ceremony. It’s a bit like being at a wedding when you realise it’s an event of legal significance as well as joy.

“It was very moving because you’re reading, hearing and seeing words, gestures and objects that have been around for many centuries. You got a sense that, if you took a snapshot, what you were witnessing would be recognisable to someone else from 1,000-plus years ago and at every other British coronation since. The biggest difference today would perhaps be the stream of celebrity faces known the world over through modern technology – I saw Stephen Fry and Lionel Richie nearby, and was opposite members of the Royal Family."

The Metro Mayor says he was humbled to represent a million West of England residents at the Westminster Abbey Coronation:

“To witness such a unique and historic national and international event was in many ways hard to fully comprehend. To witness the Coronation in person and to see the thousands of well-wishers lining the streets on the day and drink in the atmosphere was remarkable.

 “I came out thinking that yes, these traditions might seem sometimes incomprehensible - odd even - but it actually brought home just how very proud I am of our country. While certainly not perfect, in the round, we nonetheless have the most fantastic culture and history. For such a small nation, making up just 0.05 per cent of the earth’s surface, no group of people have positively influenced the world more - be that the legal system, Parliamentary democracy, the NHS, freedoms, popular music, inventions like the internet - the list goes on and on. And the most significant of all - the English language - from the Coronation wording of King Edgar, through Shakespeare to the international language of our modern scientific and computer world.”