The United Kingdom continues to celebrate: this was the concert for the coronation of Carlos III

The British continued to celebrate this Sunday the coronation of Carlos III and Camila with a great pop concert in honor of the monarchs in front of Windsor Castle and with tens of thousands of potlucks throughout the United Kingdom.

After the pomp and solemnity of Saturday’s ceremony at Westminster Abbey, Sunday was the time for popular festivities. At night, the new kings joined some 20,000 spectators for a grand concert hosted by actor Hugh Bonneville, actor of the series “Downton Abbey”.

The show, colorful and light, brought together singers like Katy Perry with old glories like Lionel Richie and Take That, as well as the recorded intervention of celebrities like Tom Cruise or Pierce Brosnan.

Hosted by the BBC, with a stage shaped like a Union Jack (the flag of the United Kingdom), the event was presided over in the presidential box by the kings
Carlos III and Camila, accompanied by the heir to the Crown, Prince William, and other members of royalty.

Precisely, Guillermo brought an introspective moment to the show, with a brief speech in which he wanted to thank his father “for 50 years of service”, as well as remembering his late grandmother, Isabel II. “Dad, we are all so proud of you,” said the Prince of Wales.

He quoted Elizabeth II when he stated that “coronations are a declaration of our hopes for the future”, and he was convinced that “she is up there, keeping a loving eye on us. And she would be a very proud mother”.

“My father’s first words as he entered Westminster Abbey yesterday (at the coronation) were a promise of service, a promise to continue to serve. Because for over 50 years, in every corner of the UK, Commonwealth and world, has dedicated himself to serving others,” said Guillermo.

During the event, one of the most remembered James Bond on the big screen, Pierce Brosnan, appeared in a recorded message to remind the public of some curious facts about the monarch, such as that he has been the Prince of Wales who has held that title for the longest time in history, more than 64 years.

Also in a recorded message, the Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise appeared aboard a fighter-bomber, who wanted to tell Carlos that “from pilot to pilot, he can be my wingman” in reference to the monarch’s military past.

The puppets of Piggy the pig and Kermit the frog also appeared, that made the grandchildren of the monarch Jorge and Carlota laugh, sitting next to their parents, Guillermo and Catalina.

Hugh Jackman or Joan Collins, also recalled during the concert biographical data about the king such as his fondness for the arts, his love for animals or his training as a pilot.

At another point in the night, all dressed in gold, the American Katy Perry performed her famous “Roar” and “Firework.” And veteran Lionel Richie ripped the 74-year-old monarch a few dance steps with an energetic “All Night Long” that brought the entire royal family to its feet.

In addition to performances by Andrea Bocelli, who sang together with Bryn Terfel the unofficial Liverpool hymn “You’ll never walk alone”, by Lionel Richie or Katy Perry, the greatest displays of astonishment were caused by the flight of the luminous drones that created shapes in the London night sky.

Street dining in the UK

In addition to the concert This Sunday, more than 67,000 neighborhood “great meals” were registered throughout the country, according to the organizers of the event, in which the neighbors gathered to celebrate the king. Each person contributed food and drink.

For them, the monarchs proposed making a “coronation quiche”, a vegetarian recipe based on spinach, broad beans and tarragon, with milk, cheese and eggs, which they shared on their Twitter account.

(Also read: This was the solemn ceremony in which Carlos III was crowned King of England)

Street parties of this type had already marked the celebrations for the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953, a historic moment of celebration after the hard post-war years.

The Princes of Wales, William and Catherine, aged 40 and 41, made a surprise appearance to greet those taking part in a large meal in Windsor Park. They chatted and drank with them out of little paper cups decorated with the British flag.

Carlos III and Camila were crowned on Saturday in a modernized and simplified ceremony compared to the previous ones, but that even so he saw the display of crowns set with diamonds and ancient clothes embroidered with gold.

Punctuated with music, songs, sermons and readings from the Gospels before 2,300 guests, including a hundred heads of state and government and representatives of other royal houses, it linked the current monarchy to its long past.

However, It was marred by the arrest of fifty protesters, including anti-monarchists and environmentalists. They were arrested, many even before their protests began, thanks to a new law, expedited into law this week, giving police greater powers against protests.

(You can read: Camila, the queen consort who ended up achieving recognition from the British)

The coronation audience

In any case, the coronation of kings Carlos III and Camila registered an average audience of 18.8 million people on television in the United Kingdom, with a maximum peak of 20.4 million when the Archbishop of Canterbury imposed the crown on the sovereign, as estimated on Sunday by the analysis firm Barb.

Figures from the organisation, run by the BBC, Channel 5, ITV, Sky News and other British channels, indicate that the number of viewers for Saturday’s ceremony it was somewhat below the average audience of 26.5 million that the funeral of Elizabeth II registered last September in the United Kingdom -in a country of 67 million inhabitants-.

(Also: The reason why many young people feel indifference to King Carlos III)

The coronation of the previous monarch, in 1953, is considered one of the events that marked the beginning of television as a means of mass communication in the country. The BBC public channel estimates that around 20 million people watched the ceremony live seventy years agoalthough at that time there were no reliable systems to accurately measure the number of viewers.

(Keep reading: Carlos III, an unpopular king who is faced with the challenge of modernizing the monarchy)

The coronation and the procession that crowned Carlos III is close to the most watched events in the country in recent years.

The opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games in 2012 was watched by an average of 24.2 million people, while the Euro 2021 soccer final attracted 22.5 million.

The monarchs are “deeply moved” and “proudly grateful” to those who helped make the coronation “such a glorious occasion” and to those who “came out to show their support,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.

INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP and EFE