Father-son jokes, buses to the palace and a worried Archbishop – behind the scenes at the Coronation
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The Prince of Wales strokes his father’s cheek. The King jokes about his sausage fingers. And the Archbishop of Canterbury worries aloud about accidentally breaking the sovereign’s neck.
This is the Coronation of King Charles III, and the Royal family, as never seen before.
A new documentary taking the public behind the scenes of the once-in-a-generation Westminster Abbey service has shown the no-nonsense, affectionate and teasing sides of the senior members of the Royal family as they prepare for the big day.
With footage of rehearsals, in which the King and his elder son laugh as they rehearse the kiss of homage, the programme is intended to capture the hidden story of the Coronation for the history books.
With moving commentary from the Princess Royal, who speaks of her mother’s death and funeral, it captures for posterity the balance between solemn tradition and family life at the heart of the Firm.
The 90-minute documentary shows the King and Queen using a scale replica of the Coronation chair, built in the Buckingham Palace ballroom, to map out their movements for the big day on May 6 this year.
William’s kiss for Charles
The documentary is particularly unusual for showing unmistakable affection between the senior royals.
In one scene, as they rehearse the all-important moment Prince William was to pledge to be the King’s “liege man of life and limb”, the father and son deliberate over which cheek he is supposed to kiss.
The Prince lightens the mood by tickling his father’s cheek, leaving him and the assembled bishops laughing.
First kissing his right cheek, before being told he was supposed to do the left, William strokes his father’s face and tells him: “Your left cheek is better.”
It is one of the most affectionate moments ever captured on camera between generations of monarchs.
It is also a visual evidence of the unity and warmth between the remaining Royal family, often spoken about by palace sources but rarely seen in formal photographs and engagements.
The Prince of Wales was also filmed looking contemplative as the intricacies of the ceremony were rehearsed.
The Dean of Westminster Dr David Hoyle, who officiated during the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, told the documentary: “What is it like for him to watch this happen? He has to be aware that there will come a day when he too will be thinking about facing this challenge.”
Praise for Camilla
The Princess Royal also has warm words for her sister-in-law, Queen Camilla.
“I’ve known her a long time off and on,” she says.
“Her understanding of her role and how much difference it makes to the King has been absolutely outstanding.
“This role is not something she would have been a natural for but she does it really well. And she provides that change of speed and tone which is equally important.”
It follows the late Queen’s example when she announced in February 2022 she would like Camilla to one day be known as the Queen Consort, praising her “loyal service”.
Queen Camilla is seen in the documentary throwing a birthday celebration for a 100 year old World War II veteran in her role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Lancers.
Lady Lansdowne, one of her close friends and now one of six Queen’s Companions, said of her ability to deal with the serious and lighthearted: “She knows when to wink at a bishop and when not to.”
Princess Anne compares royal duty to acting
The Princess Royal said she and her siblings have discussed how their drama lessons at school have helped them in their working lives.
“We often remark upon how grateful we are that our schools did a lot of drama and both of us spent time on stage,” she said. “It’s really good training.
“Apart from the fact it gives you a bit of confidence, it teaches you about learning lines and making sure you do the rehearsals and understand what’s involved so you get it absolutely right.”
In words aired over footage of the King finishing the formalities of his Coronation day, she added: “Ask any actor who’s come off stage having done a performance they’ve put a lot into. It’s that kind of relief.”
The King attended Gordonstoun school, where he once played Macbeth, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a regular on stage.
As the Prince of Wales, he appeared on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company for a 2016 gala performance in which he delivered the line “to be or not to be”.
Princess Anne attended Benenden School in Kent.
The Missing
The documentary is as notable for its absences as its interviews.
While the Princess Royal is at the heart of the programme, with her common sense commentary and witty asides, her siblings the Duke of York and Duke of Edinburgh are nowhere to be seen.
The Duke of Sussex, who did attend the Coronation, is not seen on screen.
Neither of the King’s sons took part in on-screen interviews, with the Prince of Wales’s household understood to prefer the focus on his father during his important Coronation year.
Huw Edwards, the BBC news anchor who broke the news of the Queen’s death to the world, was heard but not seen.
The presenter has been suspended by the corporation while it conducts an investigation into allegations made against him earlier this year.
Star of the show, Justin Welby
The Archbishop of Canterbury proved the break-out star of the show, with his dry humour breaking the ice of coronation formality throughout.
As the Prince of Wales tries to get to grips with where and when he is moving during the service, the Archbishop tells him solemnly: “If you ever get lost Sir in this, you just look confident and bow.”
Fumbling one of his lines, as another official teases him “you must have done this before?”, he proclaims he has a memory as good as his pet spaniel.
As they practise putting on the St Edward’s Crown - gesturing in thin air before the crown itself was delivered for the real ceremony - the King advises him to “jam it on”.
“I don’t want to break your neck, Sir” the Archbishop replies. “It might ruin the service.”
The jovial atmosphere extended to the Royal family.
When rehearsing the Queen’s crowning, Queen Camilla was filmed looking at her husband to remind him: “You’ve got to say yes or no.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby adds: “If you don’t say anything, if you don’t nod or indicate, Sir, I can’t crown Her Majesty.”
The Queen, grinning, chips in: “Don’t bother to look, I’m very happy.”
Other surprise stars of the show include a Ukrainian geography teacher who meets the King and Liverpudlian brothers who have built a business empire from seed funding from the Prince’s Trust in 1985.
Princess Anne, the consummate professional
The Princess Royal was filmed visiting Westminster Abbey ahead of time to ensure all was shipshape for her arrival and departure.
In recognition of the need to tweak plans up to the last minute, she tells assembled officials: “The seating plan will probably change before Saturday so don’t worry about it, ok.”
In an interview, she explains: “For everyone who took part, it had to come together. It was no good somebody just turning up on the day and reading the bits of paper. It’s not going to work.
“I really want to see the route out and I don’t think it’s ever worth taking somebody’s word for it.
“The other thing is that you have to leave it late enough after the television cameras have appeared and put their wires down, that you can still get out the door you thought you were going to get out of.
She added with a smile: “You may know where you think you’re going but by the time the television cameras have finished… maybe not so easy.”
‘Mama would be thrilled’
The King and Queen are seen celebrating the sovereign’s first win at Royal Ascot, in conversation with jockey Frankie Dettori.
Desert Hero, a three-year-old bred by the late Queen Elizabeth, won the 2023 King George V Handicap after a tight finish.
“My late mama would be so thrilled,” the King says, appearing emotional.
“She would be so thrilled you were here for all five days,” Dettori replies, in reference to the late Queen’s genuine love of the event now carried on by a new generation.
The documentary also gives an insight into the King getting to grips with his new role, including his red boxes and increased hosting duties.
“Monarchy is a 365 day a year occupation,” the Princess Royal says, over footage of a South African state visit. “It doesn’t stop because you change monarchs for whatever reason.
“It’s a big operation. The amount of entertaining is bigger than even they recognised.
“But I think my brother is learning things about the organisation that he was perhaps only vaguely aware of before and he’s quite enjoying that too.”
Walkabouts
Newsreels from the days leading up to the Coronation show the family being greeted by wellwishers.
Prince William coos over a baby and toddler camping out with their parents to get a good spot of the procession.
The Princess of Wales is seen on a succession of mobile phone calls and video calls, speaking to royalists who could not make it to London in person.
While the Royal family were once determined to avoid selfies, in line with their policy of avoiding autographs, that ban appears to have been firmly lifted as the Princess posed with happy admirers.
Anyone wondering what the Royal family talks about during the long Westminster Abbey processions will have their curiosity satisfied.
The King is overheard asking an Archbishop about his travel arrangements, learning he was staying at the Novotel opposite Lambeth Palace with his wife.
Royal quirks
Surprise miscellany shown to viewers for the first time during the documentary includes the Queen’s family, including her sister Annabel Elliot being picked up by bus at 6am to be taken to the palace.
Ms Elliot is also seen taking tissues out of her Coronation dress pocket to wipe away a tear as the King and Queen depart Buckingham Palace by carriage.
The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife are filmed as guests at Balmoral, with the King joking he might like to go for a run to offset the quantities of food on offer.
While examining his red boxes, and signing off a congratulatory message to the people of Sweden, the King is seen joking that he hoped the message was translated accurately into Swedish.
“You never know if someone has fed you something dreadful,” he says.
Charles III: The Coronation Year will be screened on Boxing Day at 6.50pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
