King Charles' coronation: quotes and reaction from crowds in London

Here is a selection of quotes from people in the crowd at central London for the coronation of King Charles III

Reuters
Published : 6 May 2023, 10:47 AM
Updated : 6 May 2023, 10:47 AM

People from across Britain and the world gathered on Saturday in central London for the coronation of King Charles III.

Here is a selection of quotes from those in the crowd:

Michelle Fawcett, 52, a barrister, on watching King Charles and Queen Camilla pass in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach:

"It was a moment in history and pretty spectacular. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. No one else in the world does the pomp and ceremony like us."

Mark Strasshine, from London:

"It's great to be able to get a glimpse even if it's a very, very busy event, a very wet, a very traditional British spring weather."

On glimpsing Charles: "It gives you a bit of confidence, it makes you feel the heart of the nation in you a little bit and stirs you a little bit inside. He looks ready for the day, it's obviously a big day for him."

Ben Nash, 34, business manager from Cornwall:

"Charles has big shoes to fill but he's done well so far. The Royal family is part of our heritage, it's what we do well as a country."

Andy Mitchell, 63, a teacher from Farnham, Surrey:

"When you see everyone dressed up and taking part it is just fantastic. It makes you so proud. It is just incredible to be of part of this," he said.

"My big concern is that younger people are losing interest in all of this and it won't be the same in the future."

Louise Fellows, 50, from Worcestershire:

"We came to [Queen Elizabeth's] funeral and we had such an amazing time we thought we'd come again. And I love dressing up and I loved the monarchy and it's just such a fantastic atmosphere. It's so much fun. It's brilliant."

Emily Jewell, 18:

"I think despite a lot of people's views, we should be going and seeing an important part of our history in the UK because it is quite meaningful and it's been a 1000-year tradition."

Joy Davenport, 62, from Devon:

"This is a new era. I’m a green supporter and I’m very interested to see how he’s going to encourage green issues."

Anna Reynolds, 26, a teacher, from Twickenham, London on Charles:

"We don’t love him, we don’t hate him, there is just no great affection," she said. "I think if we had a choice, we would just skip a generation."

William Stevens, 5:

"I want to see him getting his crown."

Sam Mindenhall, 27, cafe worker from Bristol:

"I think a lot of the issues that he [King Charles] cares about are quite important. I think he’s trying to not democratise the monarchy but trying to do his best to sort of balance such a tradition with modern Britain and the modern world.

"He's just trying to be more inclusive and bring more people into our nation, like the whole thing about wanting to be a defender of the faith, but defender of all faiths."