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Months of meticulous planning and preparation went into King Charles III’s Coronation on Saturday, and for the most part, it went down rather swimmingly.

That’s if you were willing to forget the monarchy’s colonialist history, its protection of an alleged sex offender, and the recent allegations of racism within its ranks. It might have also been more fun to watch if you were British – unless the dissonance of your government shelling out hundreds of millions in taxpayer pounds to bankroll royal pomp in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis is something that will get to you.

Mostly though, the auspicious day was largely drama-free, save for a couple of ‘awkward’ or amusing moments, noted The Cut.

First, take a moment to watch the crown being placed ever so slowly and delicately upon the king’s head:

King Charles III being crowned. pic.twitter.com/RbGLIi9sVq

— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) May 6, 2023

Since Charles reportedly wanted to make his coronation a more modern one than his country had seen in reigns past, the ‘Homage of the People’ was opened to the general public, who was generously “offered the opportunity” to swear they would “pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law,” so help them, God.

This allowance was meant to be democratic and inclusive, but most Brits did not appreciate the allowance:

“Incredibly distasteful and out of touch,” one reader remarked to the paper. “A relic of a violent colonial past,” added another. Having digested the feedback, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby reportedly tweaked the wording of the homage to make it less feudal.

While most eyes were on King Charles and his wife Queen Camilla as they were crowned in Westminster Abbey during the two-hour historical service, a lot more were cast towards Prince Harry, despite him being comfortably placed behind an extravagant feather hat:

Oh, dear! Last time, #PrinceHarry was obscured by a huge candle This time, by Princess Anne’s hat. #Coronation pic.twitter.com/x3dGILZquk

— Richard Eden (@richardaeden) May 6, 2023

Prince Harry’s view at the #coronation of his father, King Charles III, was partially disrupted by his aunt Princess Anne’s large feather hat.https://t.co/S3P2z6YpTh pic.twitter.com/aHv09NMZop

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) May 6, 2023

The royal family is still apparently stewing over all the beans that Prince Harry spilt in Spare, and so he was made to sit as far away from everyone as possible. That hat seemed to have come in handy, but otherwise, Prince William did a fine job at pretending his brother did not exist.

This probably suited Harry just fine, as apparently, he flew out of London almost immediately to get back to his darling wife Meghan and their son, Archie, who was celebrating his fourth birthday on the day, too.

Awkward that Harold (as Willy calls him), who “implicated the future king in the Nazi-costume scandal” (read in Spare), was lumped into the same arrival group as the disgraced Prince Andrew, whose alleged crime of raping a minor (with close ties to Jeffrey Epstein, lest we forget) is far more compromising to the crown.

Prince Harry, Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice, and Prince Andrew at the #Coronation pic.twitter.com/Oj5Ma4GJig

— ʙᴇʟʟᴀᴅᴏɴɴᴀ (@canyou_sonicme) May 6, 2023

At least Andrew was booed when he drove in:

PRINCE ANDREW BOOED ON WAY TO CORONATION OF KING CHARLES.#Coronation pic.twitter.com/44INgilzwj

— 1776 (@TheWakeninq) May 6, 2023

Harry must have really felt like a spare, sitting in the same row as his unfortunate uncle.

Meanwhile, Katy Perry (who agreed to play at the coronation concert while many other British artists decidedly would not) made headlines for not being able to find her seat:

Katy Perry spotted looking for her seat at the #Coronation of King Charles III. pic.twitter.com/m2JmrCtNIg

— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 6, 2023

Then, Prince Louis was allegedly “whisked” out of the service after looking remarkably bored, yawning hugely and staring at the ceiling. Bless his little five-year-old heart, that honesty is the most refreshing thing to come out of the royal family:

Prince Louis doing Prince Louis things.

Getty Images#Coronation pic.twitter.com/CPmJ0Fh4Tc

— ChristinZ (@ChristinsQueens) May 6, 2023

He was also charming on the balcony:

Prince Louis in the balcony at Buckingham Palace is my favorite! #Coronation pic.twitter.com/QmqbUXexKK

— Princess of Wales News (@HRHPWales) May 6, 2023

Prince Louis – need we say more? #Coronation pic.twitter.com/FWcpRwNyUo

— The Crown Chronicles (@crownchronicles) May 6, 2023

Outside the ivory tower of things, peaceful protesters were being arrested willy-nilly:

In the days leading up to the coronation, activist groups that had planned demonstrations received letters informing them of a new law against “disruption at major sporting and cultural events.” Per these new guidelines, people can be imprisoned and/or fined for blocking roads, locking themselves to other people, places, and things, or gumming up the works at airports and railways.

Since the police were given liberties to accost basically anyone who seemed to “obstruct the enjoyment and celebration” of the public, several moments of democracy were negated:

Climate group Just Stop Oil says at least 19 of its activists were arrested on the sidelines of King Charles’ procession in London.

“While everyone is focused on a billionaire in a shiny hat, the government is signing off on plans to destroy the lives of millions,” it said. pic.twitter.com/tHDsySoruc

— DW News (@dwnews) May 6, 2023

Anyway, that’s a wrap:

 

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Oh no, wait, there’s also that rumour about a strange man being Meghan Markle in disguise at the coronation.

[source:thecut]