SPECIAL DAY/KAREN’S MUSINGS: THE KING’S CORONATION WRAP-UP

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THE KING’S CORONATION WRAP-UP

I’m sorry that it’s taken me a week to weigh-in on the proceedings; it’s taken me a while to process it all. (And truth be told, to watch it all!!! It was a lot. And I think all the food I made for the occasion exhausted me.)

But then I realized that today is actually the perfect time to share my thoughts on King Charles’ Coronation because it’s the day after Mother’s Day, and I keep thinking of just how proud Queen Elizabeth would have been of her son!

Beautiful image.

Beautiful image.

But no matter which day I’m sharing these thoughts, I can’t believe the Coronation of King Charles is already over! It has seemed so far away since the world lost Queen Elizabeth in September, and then last week, it felt like it was suddenly upon us!

All year, I kept cautioning myself to not be taken by surprise, and I even made mental notes for planning how Mr. X and I were going to watch it, (especially the menu, which I’ll regale you with a bit later on in this article. Jump to the end section if you just cannot wait for it.) And then Friday, May 5th, was here before I knew it. (Yes, I know the Coronation was technically on Saturday, even for us West Coast-er’s, but since the proceedings were beginning at our 1AM, I had to start preparing our feast early on Friday afternoon. And I had to get most of it done before my 4PM because the two NBA play-off games I was going to watch, of course, were starting then, and would command my full attention. Friday was a strange day, especially doing all that on only five hours sleep!)

I have just a few observations of the once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime Coronation to share.  Of course, I had more than a few during the proceedings, but since none of you are Mr. X, I don’t feel the need to foist them all on you. But here are the main ones:

THE ACTUAL CORONATION

First of all, congrats, (or whatever you’re supposed to say in this once-every-seventy-years situation,) to the new King and Queen. May they reign as wisely and kindly as Queen Elizabeth did.

King Charles' official Coronation Portrait.

King Charles’ official Coronation Portrait.

Secondly, I have to admit that I did get choked-up at just about every turn of the very varied happenings—the ceremony, the procession, the lawn salute from the troops, the balcony scene, and even the Coronation concert the next day!

I watched on BBC America, and was not thrilled with some of the Brits who spoke throughout the week-end; the older ones often seemed too low-key, and the younger ones were waaaaay too phony, with accents that could not be readily understood. Thank goodness for closed captions!!!

But the entire week-end made me feel a tad sad that I had turned-down several opportunities to have my own talk show in England way back in the day. I adore Brits, and the commentary of the coronation definitely needed me! (But my journey, or lack thereof, is a story for another day. Or another Coronation!)

As Charles and Camilla were on their way to the service in their golden carriage, I was overwhelmed with sadness that the Queen didn’t get to see this sight. (While she was on this level of life, that is; I believe that she did watch from above.) I know that she didn’t want to cede her reign or position to her son, which I understand, because she was confident in her own rule, but, as I said, I kept thinking of how proud she would be.

The procession featuring the golden carriage. Photo by Karen Salkin.

The procession featuring the golden carriage. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one at the top of this page.

It was weird that William and Kate and children arrived after the King! With communication being what it is today, I’m sure the people who ran the event knew they were just a few minutes away, and therefore, could have delayed the King a bit, so no one would notice the tardiness of the Wales’. Just sayin’.

Gorgeous illustration by Lucy Claire.

Gorgeous illustration by Lucy Claire.

Those are some well-behaved children, by the way! When I was a teacher, I had kids of all the ages of George, Charlotte, and Louis, so I know of what I speak. I’m a fan of all three of them!

I didn’t know what was going on in the church, (or whatever that place is—how’s this for in-depth reporting?,) most of the time, but I do respect ceremonies like what was presented.

Mr. X was uber-impressed by the latter carriage that took the Royal couple to the palace, (or whatever that place is designated as, as well.) [Note, mainly to self: I guess I need to study-up on London edifices a bit.]

King Charles and his way too bushy brows! Photo by Karen Salkin.

King Charles and his way too bushy brows! Photo by Karen Salkin.

I enjoyed all of the pomp and circumstance, of course, especially the colorful fly-over at the end of it all.

On a shallow note, why did absolutely no one–not even his wife, son, stylist, grandchildren, anyone—tell the King to cut down his eyebrows!!! They were awful! And very distracting. He’s always been sort-of a dandy dresser, so it seems like he would know enough to groom his looks, as well. He must have inherited Andy Rooney’s stylist!

ROYAL (OR NOT, ANYMORE) FAMILY

Shockingly, once I began watching the coverage of the historic event, I actually forgot all about Harry! After all that build-up and speculation and gossip stories, his presence there was just an afterthought.

As many of you may know, I absolutely detest what Harry has done to hurt his family at every recent turn, but it still broke my heart to see him there all by himself, and not enjoying the very special occasion with William and Kate, as he always used to do before his rotten wife came along and ruined his whole life for her own gain. It made me think even more than ever how different and better his life would be had he just met a wonderful woman, one classy enough to have been an asset to the Royals, as opposed to the gigantic detriment that she is. My only hope is that one of Harry’s children, whom he would not have without that evil Markle, grows up to cure cancer. Or something like that. Then all the pain he’s caused will have been worth it.

Harry in the middle of of the guests, looking forlorn and all alone.

Harry in the middle of of the guests, looking forlorn and all alone.

On that same tack, that’s how I feel about the Charles and Camilla saga. They’re clearly each other’s true loves, so, despite being a Diana fan, I’m thrilled for the King and Queen that they did wind-up together. (If you missed it, I explained my philosophy on the topic right here: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/karens-tipsupcomingevent-tips-on-watching-the-coronation-of-king-charles.) I sort-of hate that they had to waste so many years apart.  But had they wound-up together from the start, the world would not have William, Kate, or their adorable children. So I have to go with that it’s all good.

That's Harry behind the red plume on Princess Anne's chapeau! Many people got a kick out of his visage being obscured, which is what they want for him and his rotten wife to be.

That’s Harry behind the red plume on Princess Anne’s chapeau! Many people got a kick out of his visage being obscured, which is what they want for him and his rotten wife to be.

Back to Harry a second. It was so hard to see all his cousins (and most of his aunts and uncles, too,) entering the chapel with his or her significant other and/or their families, and him be all alone. Yes, I am aware that he did this to himself, but he’s basically just a poor patsy. I hate that someone ruined his life like this, even though he was a willing participant. I’m glad he showed-up at his father’s Coronation, but I’m wondering why he did. What was his real impetus? Did he do it for his father, the Royal family, the world, or himself? He had to know he would feel out of place, but did he have a moment of clarity and realize that he would feel bad forever after if he did not make the effort? I’m convinced that he understood what his reception would be.

But his father recently said something to the effect that he was happy that “my darling boy” would be there, so I’m glad for the King that he did have that.

It’s now another shame that the entire family feels that they can’t ever talk to Harry in private again because their words will be twisted by him; there has to be a witness with them at all times. (To a degree, I understand how they feel because I once had a similar situation with someone. My friend (A) had a friend (B) who would always lie to A about anything I said.  So I decided to never again speak to B, so she could not change any of my words. A bit after that smart decision, B and I were, unfortunately, seated at the same table at an event. She kept trying to speak to me, but I just ignored her. When A asked me later why I wouldn’t talk to B, I explained that now B could report only that exact situation, that I would not talk to her, and not lie about what I had to say!)

And, as always, I loved Princess Kate and the kids throughout. And Prince William, too, of course.

THE CONCERT

I watched every second of the concert and surrounding coverage, of course, and I must say it was totally engaging. It was a very well-done event.

Yes, most of the music was a tad douchey, but I loved that they incorporated so many different disciplines, and Commonwealth people, into the show. And the ever-changing artwork at the top of the stage was all quite stunning. (I could have lived without seeing the incredibly hairy armpits of Mei Mac, the woman who performed Juliet, though, especially while I was enjoying my tea fare!)

Actress Mac Mei and her very hairy armipits! Photo by Karen Salkin.

Actress Mac Mei and her very hairy armipits! Photo by Karen Salkin.

But how ever did the Royal Box peeps see anything from that far back??? I didn’t notice any big screens anywhere on the premises.

I really do love those kids! I was never very into Charlotte before last week-end, but she appears to be very sweet.

I, (along with that entire English population,) am so glad it didn’t rain that night!

Now, let’s get to the most important topic of that event already: Is it possible that Lionel Richie’s awful voice was due to his gigantic cheekbone implants? Maybe they were getting in the way. And I’m not even joking. (I love that he said last week that he would never have plastic surgery!!! I guess he meant “any more” plastic surgery! Those suckers were sticking straight out there!!! They could have walked out on their own!)

Lionel Richie and his newly-puffy cheekbones. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Lionel Richie and his newly-puffy cheekbones. Photo by Karen Salkin.

I still don’t get why there were so many American performers. I understand Lionel and Katy Perry being there, because the organizers wanted their songs, (All Night Long and Firework, respectively,) but what was up with Nicole Scherzinger being on the bill? And singing a song, Reflection, that’s not even hers, and is from a fifteen-year-old Disney movie, to boot! (But her singing was the best of the concert.)

THE MENU FOR MR. AND MY CORONATION FEAST

This is actually the most important aspect of the Coronation, isn’t it? (When I showed a friend a picture of our entire food set-up, he said, “You didn’t have all this for just one meal, did you?!”)

So, of course, we didn’t finish it all during the actual Coronation, but I just wanted us to have the wonderful choices. And even though it wasn’t our afternoon in Los Angeles, the occasion called for a proper Afternoon Tea.

So here’s the list of what we dined on, most of which was made my moi! And I served it all on a four-tier stand, of course. (It’s usually served on three-tiered stands, not four, but I have an antique one from my mother, so I just made use of the top little bonus cup for my little bottles of clotted cream.)

The four-tier portion of the tea service. Photo by Karen Salkin.

The four-tier portion of the tea service. Photo by Karen Salkin.

The first course was tea sandwiches and savories. The finger sands were cinnamon cream cheese and walnuts on banana swirl bread. Yum! And I’m very proud of my other creation which I invented using little tidbits I had in the fridge. They were tiny blinis adorned with little slices of turkey and mozzarella with half a grape tomato on top, all held together by a toothpick, and heated up just a taste. I could have eaten a hundred of those!!!

Next came our favorites—the scones. I have to admit that I had help from Iveta scone mixes, which are soooo easy, rather than making them from scratch. And they’re soooo delicious, to boot! I chose Chocolate Chips ones, (which we’ve had many a time before, so we already knew we loved them,) along with their Maple ones, which were new to us, and we loved those almost as much. (My whole team is waiting to try some more of their many creative flavors soon, but two were enough for just Mr. X and me.)

We topped the scones with official clotted cream from the famous tiny jars, and then a dollop of strawberry jam. Mr. X used some of Iveta’s lemon curd, as well, and loved it! (You might know by now that I’m a lemon-hater, so I abstained from that treat.)

For dessert, we had giant fresh strawberries, which Mr. X was happy to slather with the lemon curd, and we both dipped them into my own homemade clotted cream that I whipped-up a big batch of. I also baked chocolate muffins using a pancake mix into which I added chocolate chips.

But my absolute winner, and crowning achievement, (a description which is so apropos of the occasion,) was my…English Trifle! It is such an authentically British dessert, and one that I had never attempted to make before. But I felt like there would be no better time to make it than for the Coronation. (And wasn’t Mr. X happy! He could not stop eating it all week-end. Now I know what to do for his birthday this year! Finally!)

Karen Salkin's English Trifle. (She couldn't get a better picture because they were desperate to dig in!)  Photo by Karen Salkin.

Karen Salkin’s English Trifle. (She didn’t work on getting a better picture because they were desperate to dig in!) Photo by Karen Salkin.

We honestly didn’t need all that, but what the heck—as I said, it was the Coronation!

I always have tons of all kinds of teas on hand, and thought of brewing up a pot of The Beauty Tea Company’s “I Am Energy” blueberry tea, which I love, but in the end, we went with a basic British tea, just so I could look at it’s big beautiful blue tin!

And that is it for my Coronation coverage, ladies and gents!!! I guess we’ll do it all again in a couple of decades when now-nine-year-old Prince George gets married!

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