Friday was May 5 – Cinco de Mayo! I don’t have any Mexican heritage that I’m aware of. But hubs and I didn’t let that prevent us from celebrating in our own quiet way. I made taco salad. We imbibed some margaritas. Viva tequila! And we watched Nacho Libre, a fun movie we’ve seen several times before.
Saturday, we moved from tequila to tea, watching the Coronation of King Charles III. Well, I watched every moment and my husband humored me. He provided support by googling my questions, such as “Who is the woman in the blue dress carrying the bejeweled sword? (Answer, in case you were wondering: Penny Mordaunt, Lord President of the Privy Council.)
I’m a bit of an anglophile and a long-time British royal watcher. I’ve watched all of the royal weddings that have been televised, starting with Charles and Diana. I wept as I watched the queen’s funeral last September. The coronation day on Saturday brought more smiles than tears, but I loved all the pageantry and the clothes, and getting a look at royals from all over the world. Many that I didn’t even know still had royal families.
My favorite moments from the coronation included: Princess Charlotte’s white dress, Prince George helping carry his grandfather’s train. I’m sure footage from his turn as a page will feature prominently in the lead-up to his own coronation one day. Just like we’ve seen lots of photos of four-year-old Prince Charles looking completely bored at his mother’s coronation in 1953. And I loved Prince Louie’s huge yawn during the coronation on Saturday. I was impressed that he didn’t stick his tongue out even once. And also that he sang out, standing at attention, during the national anthem, and clearly knows all the words. Hubs was surprised that I know all the words and was singing along. But most of my ancestors are from England and Scotland, according to the geneaology research my brother has done.
Other highlights for me: Prince William’s oath of allegiance to his father, and King Charles whispering, “Thank you, William” afterward. Princess Anne riding on horseback behind the king’s carriage as an honorary bodyguard. All of the music was beautiful. The royals on the balcony for the fly over. And the thousands of people cheering along the route wearing hats, jackets, T-shirts and facepaint featuring the Union Jack.
If I had a least favorite part: As a Catholic I can’t say I enjoyed the part where the king swears to uphold the Protestant faith. But at least the papal delegation was allowed in the congregation for the coronation. When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned, they had to stand outside the abbey.
Are you a royal fan? Any thoughts or comments about the coronation? If tacos and tequila are more your thing, or if you have Mexican heritage, did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Share in comments.
Chicks on the Case 
I love the pomp and circumstance of the Royal events. I’ve also watch all the weddings and I imagined Diana being crowned Queen and how beautiful she would have been. Her funeral was on my birthday and I went to work that morning looking like a mess from all the crying I had done.
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Oh, queen, I think lots of people were thinking of Diana! Looking at Charlotte and Louie, and George, I can’t help thinking how much she would’ve loved being a grandmother. And George already looks so grown up!
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I saw highlights of the coronation. It is a lot of pomp and pagentry. I’m kinda glad the world hasn’t lost that. And I missed my opportunity for tacos on May 5 (like I need an excuse to eat tacos)!
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Liz, the highlights reel was pretty good! And so was the concert Sunday night at Windsor castle!
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No excuse needed, Liz. Tomorrow’s taco Tuesday!
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Vicki, I had no idea the papal delegation had to stand outside at Elizabeth’s coronation. You really do know your stuff. (And boo!)
I love royal weddings. Friends and I made fascinators and had a tea to watch Will and Kate’s. (The recording. I’m not so interested that I’ll watch in real time, given the time difference.) But as far as the coronation goes, seeing all that pomp and circumstance made me feel like a bit of an anti-monarchist. Also, I can’t get past Camilla being queen. My sympathies are with Harry on that one.
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Aw, let’s have a Chicks tea party and wear fascinators — or tiaras!
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Vickie, what a great weekend of armchair travels! I managed to catch some replay clips of the coronation. My hubby isn’t quite as enthusiastic a royal watcher as yours, I’m afraid. He was tuned in to some soccer game where everyone was booing God Save the King. But I caught all the important parts (so ashamed to say this): the kids’ clothes, the happy “old dears” waving tea towels in the crowd, Louis’s faces and Prince Harry’s brief appearance. I couldn’t help thinking of Diana, and the late Queen. Oh, and I did see something somewhere that said King Charles really, really wanted to drop the “the” before “faith,” to be more inclusive. But he was overruled. (Wait, isn’t he King?)
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Lisa, are you the Miss Piggy fan? Or is it one of the other Chicks? Anyhow, Miss Piggy and Kermit made an appearance at the coronation concert Sunday night. And word is, the pig and the frog were the only performers that Charlotte and George asked to have their picture taken with!
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Aw, that’s so cute! I think maybe I’m more of a Cookie Monster fan than Miss P and Kermit…
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I’m not a royal fan and didn’t watch any of the coronation. But my husband’s ancestry reaches back to the House of Percy–Elizabeth I did lop off some of their heads. Fortunately, his ancestor survived and eventually became Smithson–he’s related to a cousin of James Smithson which the Smithsonian Institution is named for. So, he, like you, shares an interest in all things pertaining to the British royal family.
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Cool connection with the Smithsonian, Karen!
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I was living in England during the Queen’s Silver Jubilee (doing my junior year of college at Exeter University), and a bunch of us hosted a party for the occasion in our dorm–good fun! I’ve been a fan of Charles for years, ever since he became involved in organic farming, the National Trust, and other issues of good land management.
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How exciting that you lived in England for a year! My sister did one semester at Oxford!
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LOL! I forgot all about the coronation until I read this, and missed out on tacos and margaritas too! Oh well, come St Swithun’s Day maybe I’ll be ready to celebrate.
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Had to look that one up, Becky! July 15th, folks–the Brit version of Groundhog Day. Rain on St. S’s Day means rain for 40 days, but sun and you’ve got–40 days of rays!
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Don’t you have a margarita maker, Becky?
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I know! I’m a pitiful excuse ….
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Thanks for giving us the recap, Vickie! Like Becky, I missed it all. I mean, I knew about both occasions but failed to actually take any action. Thankfully, there’s you! P.S. I do want to visit England one day!
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Yes, Jen! England is definitely on my bucket list!
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I slept through the coronation and didn’t try to record it. And I didn’t celebrate Cinco de Mayo either. I guess that makes me the party pooper, right?
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Mark, I’ve reached the age where a nap is a perfectly good reason to miss a party!
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I watched the whole coronation as ever since I was a little girl, I loved the monarchy. I am glad that it was cut down to three hours (which still seemed long to me) and the Catholic church was included this time. 3% of my DNA is from a native woman from the Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas region of Mexico. All the females in our line have that passed down from her, but none of the males have it. My grandmother was from the Medrano de Longoria line that was part of Monterey, Mexico and one of 12 families that founded Matamoros, Mexico. Their relatives emigrated from Spain and Portugal. So, I do have some Spanish blood. We sort of celebrated Cinco de Mayo as I made a quesadilla for lunch. We usually do eat Mexican food, but this year was different for some reason. Texie did wear her sombrero though (our pup). Viva Mexico!
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Viva, Texie! That sounds too cute, Madeline!
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Vicki,
Si! Viva Texie. She tried on 3 different sombreros to decide which she liked. Kind of like a Kentucky Derby Fascinator. Thanks for replying. See photos attached.
Madeleine
>
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Thanks for replying Vicki! I don’t know how to put photos on here or if you can, but I emailed you some of Texie and her different sombreros.
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Well I forgot to add that even though we had seafood that night, we added Fideo which is just like Mexican Rice but made with fideo or vermecilli. I love it. Very Mexican.
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That sounds yummy, Madeleine!
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You should try it. Great flavor.
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And it was derby weekend! Quite a lot of things to do.
Vickie, thanks for sharing your knowledge. I saw about five minutes of the coronation, when they were putting the crown on his head. The rest of it made me sad because I couldn’t stop thinking about Diana…
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Camilla’s ex-husband attended. Wonder if Di would have been seated next to him? I also thought of Prince Phillip. If he’d lived to be 100 or so, he could’ve seen his son crowned.
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I attended my first coronation party! My boyfriend is a Brit and although not a royalist per se, was very keen to connect with the British community (the BBC–no really!!) in Bend during this historic event.
We had an absolute BLAST. We watched a replay of the coronation, ate loads of British food, danced to British Invasion rock bands, imbibed champagne, and made new friends. It was a night to remember. ❤
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