(Editor”™s note: Though he makes his home now in Westfair country, Table and Travel Talk”™s own Jeremy Wayne is an Englishman by birth and by heart. Recently, he had an extended stay in his native land and files this report:)
The British love a knees-up, as they like to call a party, and there will have been no knees-ups in living memory quite as jolly as the national one due to take place on Saturday, May 6, to celebrate the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III.
All across London, from the swanky streets of Belgravia and Mayfair to genteel outer suburbs and gritty sink estates ”“ what the British call housing projects ”“ the capital is set to be en fête. Not just on the day of the coronation itself, but throughout the entire weekend, there will be street parties galore, singalongs in pubs; picnics in public parks; get-togethers in civic halls; gatherings in places of worship; bashes in civic halls; and all manner of celebrations in hotels and restaurants.
Unlike their American cousins, the British are not usually a nation of flag-flyers. In London, on your average day, one flies over the Houses of Parliament, another over Buckingham Palace when the monarch is in residence. A handful of government buildings may also choose to fly the standard and fancy hotels like to hoist a flag. But that”™s usually about it. The coronation , though, will change all that. I have been in London over the past four weeks as London”™s streets have become swathed in Union Jacks, from buildings to shop windows to private terraces and front yards, and I can tell you this: The whole city is giddy with a sea of red, white and blue.
All over town, too, buildings are being hosed down, memorials spruced up, parks and verdant city squares pruned and primped for Operation Golden Orb, as the entire coronation event ”“ which has in fact been in the planning for years ”“ has been code-named. One benefit of this year”™s unseasonably cold April means that the capital should also be in full blossom come the day.
And London hotels, to put it bluntly (and in a very un-English way), are cashing in. The posh Dorchester Hotel has really gone to town, draping its terraces with royal regalia and vast swags of blue fabric, like enormous rouched curtains, as it did for the late Queen Elizabeth II”™s coronation back in 1953, while Claridge”™s ”“ often referred to as the Buckingham Palace annex, as it is where visiting royals and heads of state often stay ”“ is mounting an exhibit of British coronations through the 170-year life of the hotel. The Ritz, on Piccadilly, is throwing a ball with tickets priced at $1,500, which doesn”™t sound unreasonable for an 11-course feast with vintage Champagne.
But what do people think about the coronation, though? Is it too extravagant ”“ or perhaps not extravagant enough? Are Britons really royal-mad or is Britain perhaps a nation of closet anti-monarchists? Crossing London two weeks ago, from unlovely Kilburn in the west to working-class Dagenham in the east, I certainly come across a few republicans. (In Britain they”™re the “off-with-their-heads” brigade.) But I also found the vast majority of people I spoke to or overheard were excited to be witnessing the first, perhaps only, coronation they will ever see. They seem to want the best for the new king and his wife, Camilla ”“ no longer to be titled “Queen Consort,” incidentally, but simply “Queen.”
Eyebrows nevertheless continue to be raised over the official arrangements, both the coronation itself as well as the Windsor event the following day. (I often feel like saying to the naysayers, “You”™re so good at organizing? You go plan a coronation then.”) One cavil has been the shortening of the procession route, set to cover 1.3 miles, which is only one fifth as long as the last coronation procession 70 years ago. Another is the general scaling down of pomp. This is because the king is no spendthrift and recognizes there is a great deal of economic hardship in the country following the pandemic, with many families finding it harder than ever to put food on the table and utility bills soaring. So, while much of the coronation ceremony is determined historically and cannot be altered, there is also room for sensible, thoughtful adjustments to suit the times.
Yet another bleat has been the “coronation dish,” as designated by Their Majesties. Of all things, it is quiche. The eco-aware, organic-farming king is known to enjoy this classic flan very much, but some pundits feel it is infra dig ”“ to say nothing of French ”“ perhaps thinking that a Buckingham Palace reception, where it will likely be served, should include great sides of beef and whole hogs on the spit, kind of Henry VIII-style. They have a point.
What I think has disappointed many people on this side of the Pond is that President Joe Biden will not be making the trip. (The First Lady, Jill Biden, Ph.D., will be stepping into the breach to represent the United States.) While no American president has ever attended a British coronation, the British are on the whole very fond of their American cousins (with one notable exception) and undoubtedly the president”™s presence would have added luster. Any disappointment should therefore be seen as a compliment.
As for that couple, the national sigh of relief was almost palpable back on April 12 when Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had (finally) replied to the coronation invitation and only the duke would in fact be attending. The duchess, said the Palace, pushing tact to the outer limits of credulity, would remain in Montecito, where Prince Archie would be celebrating his fourth birthday on Coronation Day. Of course, there are many ”“ very many ”“ who feel the duke himself should have done the decent thing and absented himself, even calling on the king to bar him, but this cabal has not accounted for a father”™s unconditional love.
Back in London, restaurants, too, have introduced special menus for the entire month of May. At the restaurant at The Goring (the hotel close to Buckingham Palace, where the Middleton family stayed the night prior to Prince William”™s marriage to Catherine, now Princess of Wales), they will be serving a special tea comprising the king”™s favourite sandwiches, cakes and sweet treats. For myself, I rather like the idea of the coronation menu that will be served between May 1 and 13 at The Cinnamon Club, an upscale, Michelin-starred Indian restaurant near Westminster Abbey, where dishes will include King Charles Bangla Scotch egg with beetroot and mutton and kasundi ketchup (a tongue-in-cheek throwback to the days of the British Raj) and char-grilled Balmoral Estate venison with black stone flower reduction. While neither may be your English cup of tea, you must admit they sound a lot more interesting than a slice of “Coronation Quiche.”
For more, visit theritzondon.com; dochestercollection.com; thegoring.com; cinnamonclub.com.
