Category Archives: King Charles coronation

Q+A host Stan Grant standing down from ABC show after racist abuse

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The ABC presenter says he has been a media target for racism and for now he’s ‘walking away’

The host of Q+A Stan Grant is standing down from the show after receiving “grotesque racist abuse” which escalated after he spoke on the ABC about the impact of colonialism ahead of the King’s coronation.

Grant said in a column published on the ABC website that after Monday’s episode he was “walking away”.

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Red faces in Ireland over coronation quips by Leo Varadkar’s partner

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Matt Barrett’s Instagram posts from Westminster Abbey cause embarrassment after Irish delegation sets precedent by attending

When Ireland’s leaders attended the coronation of King Charles III, it was hailed as a milestone in relations between Dublin and London.

The Irish president, Michael D Higgins, the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and Sinn Féin’s deputy leader, Michelle O’Neill, set the precedent – their predecessors had shunned previous coronations – to show respect to their neighbour.

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Penny Mordaunt says she took painkillers before sword-carrying role

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Lord president of privy council says coronation was ‘humbling day’ and democracy ‘is about dissent’

Penny Mordaunt has revealed how she took painkillers before her role of carrying the ceremonial sword during King Charles’s coronation.

Mordaunt, wearing a custom-made teal outfit with a matching cape and headband with gold feather embroidery, was the first woman to perform the role as lord president of the council. She was responsible for bearing the sword of the state and presenting the jewelled sword of offering to the king. They were two of four swords used during the ceremony, and it is a practice that dates back to the coronation of Richard the Lionheart in 1189.

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ABC coverage of King Charles III coronation tops Australian ratings despite being attacked by monarchists

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After being accused of being ‘obsequious’ over Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, ABC included discussion of colonialism and monarchy’s relevance

The ABC’s broadcast of King Charles’ coronation was labelled “despicable” by monarchists, but viewers loved it and gave the national broadcaster an easy ratings win over the commercial networks.

The king’s procession averaged 1,182,000 viewers on the ABC, putting it ahead of Seven’s 1,096,000 and Nine’s 738,000, according to OzTAM which now measures viewing through broadcast TV and streaming devices.

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Coronation volunteers set to work making royal parks bloom

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A wildflower planting operation is under way in Green Park, near Buckingham Palace, as part of The Big Help Out

After two days of playing host to thousands of flag-waving royal supporters, visitors were invited back to Green Park on Monday – this time to do some gardening.

As the machinery moved in and the clean-up effort got under way around Buckingham Palace, a few metres away, along a meandering line marked out in white through the park, volunteers got down on their hands and knees to plant wildflowers.

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Take That, Katy Perry and more entertain 20,000 at coronation concert

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Prince of Wales also appears on stage, saying to King Charles III: ‘Pa, we are all so proud of you’

Thousands danced and waved their flags underneath Windsor Castle in the first concert ever held in the grounds to celebrate King Charles’s coronation.

Stars including Katy Perry, who sang Roar and Firework, and Lionel Richie, who played Easy and All Night Long, entertained the 20,000-strong audience, including the royal family, and millions at home on Sunday. Take That provided a rousing finale, drawing the night to a close with Never Forget, featuring an intro from the choristers of Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

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King Charles complained ‘we can never be on time’ at coronation, lip reader claims

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Monarch reportedly said ‘there’s always something’ during the build-up to the ceremony

King Charles grumbled “we can never be on time” and “there’s always something” at the start of his coronation, a lip reader has claimed.

The monarch and Camilla arrived at Westminster Abbey early and were forced to wait outside, sat in their diamond jubilee state coach.

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Coronation aimed for diversity but real challenges still lie ahead

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Bid to reflect an inclusive modern Britain countered by ‘terribly white’ Buckingham Palace balcony

For many, King Charles III achieved his ambition for a diverse and inclusive coronation, though not everyone agreed.

There were far more black and brown faces in Westminster Abbey than 70 years ago, as would be expected given societal change over Elizabeth II’s reign.

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‘Everyone’s welcome’: community unites at Coronation Big Lunch in Leeds

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‘Pay as you feel’ celebration in Armley, one of city’s most deprived wards, is one of more than 67,000 across bank holiday weekend

Parishioners had put out enough chairs in the grounds of Christ Church in Armley, Leeds, to seat about 80 people for their Coronation Big Lunch – but it was starting to become clear they may have underestimated.

Helped by sunny weather on Sunday, numbers were nearly twice as high, and it was not long before pews were being brought outside to seat the diverse gathering, one of more than 67,000 Big Lunches being held across the bank holiday weekend as part of the official coronation celebrations.

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Colonialism and controversial guests inform Africa’s reaction to Charles’s coronation

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While some paid tribute to the British monarch, the presence in London of certain guests proved less than welcome

In South Africa, as across the African Commonwealth countries, Saturday’s coronation of King Charles III prompted mixed reactions.

There was much interest in Pretty Yende, the South African soprano who sang at the beginning of the ceremony, and some high-profile public figures sent their best wishes to the monarch.

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Bearskins but no drones: did coronation parade reflect modern UK military?

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Observers split on whether armed forces’ high-profile ceremonial role could help or hinder their image

The British military deployed 9,000 personnel in ceremonial and supporting duties on Saturday’s coronation, nearly 5% of all the UK armed forces, in the largest display of official pageantry for more than 70 years.

But the carefully choreographed effort, eight months in the planning, comes at a time when recruitment is falling and the image projected by the army on parade is, some observers say, far removed from the needs of the modern military.

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Anti-coronation protest leader hits out at police over arrests

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Graham Smith said Met officers should hang their heads in shame after 52 detained in central London

Police who arrested anti-monarchy protesters before King Charles III’s coronation have “destroyed whatever trust might have existed between peaceful protesters and the Metropolitan police,” the chief executive of the campaign group Republic has said.

After six members of the group were arrested at about 7.30am on Saturday – before their protest had begun – and had their placards seized, Graham Smith said officers “should hang their heads in shame” and that police had shown “no judgment, no common sense and no basic decency”.

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French left attacks ‘nauseating’ coronation but right gives praise

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Jean-Luc Mélenchon also criticises French TV coverage while National Rally MP hails ‘magnificent’ ceremony

Almost 9 million people watched King Charles’s coronation live on TV in France, where the pomp and ceremony sickened the radical left while impressing the far right.

As the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who is close to Charles, attended the service at Westminster Abbey, congratulating the monarchy who he said were “friends to France”, the French media’s massive focus on the event – with souvenir front pages and lengthy TV specials across different channels – caused high emotions across the polarised political landscape.

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Anthony Albanese gives ‘crucial’ pledge of allegiance to King Charles III at coronation

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Prime minister returns to Australia on Sunday after joining in pledge to new monarch, a decision backed by colleagues

Anthony Albanese’s decision to pledge allegiance to King Charles at the monarch’s coronation has been described as “crucial” by his own government, despite the prime minister’s stance as a staunch republican.

The prime minister on Sunday said it was an honour to represent Australia at the coronation, where he entered Westminster Abbey behind Governor-General David Hurley and the national flag-bearer, soccer star Sam Kerr.

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Tasmania pushing to fast-track new AFL stadium; Chalmers slip hints at budget surplus – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

‘It’s tough’: Taylor on whether LNP can hold Fadden after Stuart Robert retirement

Taylor is asked whether the LNP can hold Fadden at the upcoming byelection to fill the spot left by Stuart Robert after he suddenly announced his retirement and says “it’s tough”.

That’s the nature of modern politics.

But the point I would make is the real test right now is this inflation test.

The more the treasurer talks about restraint, the more we know he’s planning to spend. That is the double speak we are getting from Labor right now.

I think it is a test of whether inflation is being dealt with. The truth of the matter is we know there is no bigger conversation around the kitchen table right now than this inflation that’s hitting. It is a tax on everyone and everything. We want to see a budget that deals with that.

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Liverpool fans boo during national anthem before match at Anfield

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Football club says how spectators choose to react to God Save the King is a ‘personal choice’

The British national anthem has been met with resounding boos at Anfield, with Liverpool fans drowning out the music with heckles before their fixture against Brentford hours after King Charles’s coronation.

Liverpool supporters could also be heard chanting “Liverpool, Liverpool” in what has become somewhat of a tradition whenever the national anthem is played at the ground.

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King Charles and Queen Camilla crowned at Westminster Abbey – as it happened

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Coronation comes after anti-monarchy protesters arrested in central London. This blog is now closed

My colleague Alexandra Topping is out and about with the crowds in central London early this morning:

Crazy scenes around the streets of the coronation route London this morning, which have been heaving since the very early hours as people hope to secure a good spot.

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Julian Assange writes letter to King Charles and urges him to visit Belmarsh prison

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The WikiLeaks founder writes that he has been captive in the prison for more than four years ‘on behalf of an embarrassed foreign sovereign’

Julian Assange has written a letter to King Charles ahead of his coronation inviting him to visit the UK prison where the WikiLeaks founder has been captive for more than four years “on behalf of an embarrassed foreign sovereign”.

The letter is the first document the Australian journalist and WikiLeaks founder has written and published since his time in Belmarsh prison in London and accounts the horrors of his life there.

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Global heads gather in London for lavish coronation of Charles and Camilla

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Crowning of new king and queen will include UK’s biggest military spectacle in 70 years

Foreign royalty, heads of state and other dignitaries from around the globe have descended on London for the crowning of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, which will include a military spectacle unmatched in Britain in 70 years.

Seven thousand troops will be on parade with 19 military bands in a coronation procession stretching one mile from front to rear, the most at any state occasion since the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

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Coronation build-up live: King Charles and Camilla at Westminster Abbey for final rehearsal

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Dignitaries arriving in London ahead of tomorrow’s ceremony as people already gather to line procession route

A children’s biography of King Charles III has topped the UK book chart before the coronation on 6 May.

Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara’s King Charles is part of the Little People, Big Dreams series, which includes illustrated biographies of notable figures such as Stephen Hawking and Michelle Obama.

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