Long Live King Charles

Ok I admit it!  I was one of those people who stayed up all night to watch the Coronation.  Truthfully I had been excited for weeks just thinking about the ceremony and the clothes and the cute kids so I just got comfortable on the couch and watched the preliminary documentaries and pre-coronation coverage.

And I loved every minute!

What a spectacular show!

I guess there is a part of me that wished it could have been the beautiful Diana being crowned.  

I wish that their marriage had been happy and that they had stayed married and in love until this day. 

BUT

both of them cheated in their marriage.

They separated in 1992 so 31 years ago.

They divorced in 1996 - 27 years ago.

And Diana died in 1997 so 26 years ago.

I would not have wanted Charles and Diana to have stayed all those years in a loveless marriage just for the sake of her becoming queen.  

Charles and Camilla have been in love for decades and married for 18 years.

She seems to work hard and be good at her job.

And most importantly of all, she supports and loves Charles.

That counts for something in my book.

Perfect people?  No of course not.

Things to be sorry for....many.

But 'he who is without sin, cast the first stone'.

The coronation ceremony was a deeply felt, religious experience.  I was impressed that King Charles said that he came not to be served but to serve.

So many references to grace and mercy and service.

He seemed genuinely moved by the experience.

The music was spectacular.

I was touched by the grandeur and the history behind all the elements.

Even at 5:00 in the morning!

A highlight for me had to be the Wales kids.

Prince George as a page to his Granddad the King. 

Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis walking so sweetly behind their parents.

Their behavior was impeccable.  Louis got a little restless but then 2 hours is a LONG time for a barely 5 year old to sit still and be quiet.  His nanny took him out for a planned break but he rejoined his family for the recessional. 

I am sure the Prince and Princess of Wales were so proud of their children. As they should be!

From all I read and have observed they are excellent parents. 

This coronation seems like a bookend to my life.  Daddy was in England for Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 when I was born.  Now nearing the end of my life, I witness this one.  With a little luck, I may live to see Prince William and Catherine become King and Queen.

That would make me very happy.

 

Royalty

I readily admit that I have an obsession with the British Royal family.  I remember getting up in the very early hours to watch Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer's wedding and I did it again to watch Prince William wed Kate Middleton. In Barcelona, I even went down to the Cathedral when one of the Spanish princesses was wed.  No one else in my family was willing to brave the crowds.  Mary would have gone with me, I am sure, but she was already away at college.   That day I got a very friendly wave from Prince Edward who, seeing my blond hair among all the dark haired Spaniards, probably thought I was British!

Our family has a bit of 'family tradition' relating to the Royal Family.  My Daddy was in the Navy and was actually in England during the time of the Queen's Coronation in 1953. 

 In fact he missed my birth because of that assignment. 

Family lore holds that he was part of the fleet that was sent to honor Queen Elizabeth.  I did some research and learned a bit about the ship he was on in July 1953 - the USS Antietam.

She was sent to England but her mission there was to conduct joint testing with the British on a new design for aircraft carriers.  The Antietam had been retrofitted with an angled deck.  Before this time, carrier decks were straight like the top design.  The Antietam now had the angled design of the bottom ship.  The result of this testing was that the angled design was most efficient.  The first ship built with this design was a British carrier; although other ships (like the Antietam) had been retrofitted with the angled design. Now it is the norm.   

Yes, in Top Gun-Maverick the deck is angled! 

While he was on board the Antietam in 1953, I was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Daddy made it home before my mother and I left the hospital. Of course, in those days, postpartum stays were often as long as a week. He must have been on his way home when I was born. The train carrying Daddy arrived late at night but he came directly to the hospital to see me. Moma says that I was wide awake when he arrived.While in England, Daddy bought a set of Wedgwood china in a pattern called Charwood and carried it home in a large box; first on his ship and then on the train from New York to Lonoke. Needless to say, it is a treasure.

Because of all of this, I have always felt a 'connection' with Queen Elizabeth and the royal family. 

So yes, I bought a Platinum Jubilee mug.

And I watched video after video of the celebrations.  

I was thoroughly entertained.  The kids, the pomp and ceremony, the fashion, the crowds so obviously honoring a woman who has served them well for 70 years!  

I confess to shedding a tear or two when the Queen and her 3 heirs stood on the balcony and sang 'God Save the Queen'. 

It reminded me of this quote from the new Downton Abbey movie: 

Individual Crawleys come and go, but the family lives on.