King Charles shares his surprising regret about the Coronation concert during Buckingham Palace reception held to thank hundreds of people involved in his historic crowning

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King Charles has revealed he has one regret about his coronation weekend in May – he wishes that he brought his binoculars to the concert at Windsor Castle.

The King and Queen hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace yesterday to thank people involved in both the historic crowning of the monarch and the late Queen’s funeral last year.

Following the coronation at Westminster Abbey on May 6, a concert was staged the day after in the grounds of Windsor Castle with performances from an array of stars, such as Olly Murs, Lionel Richie, Paloma Faith and Take That.

Neil Walter, who was in charge of parking for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, said the King told him how he was seated so far from the concert stage he could not see what was happening on there.

The official added: ‘He said next time he would like to be closer – or bring his binoculars.’

King Charles has revealed he has one regret about his coronation weekend in May – he wishes that he brought his binoculars to the concert at Windsor Castle (pictured)

During the concert, the King and Queen were seated alongside other members of the Royal Family and VIP guests in the Royal Box. It was arranged within a tiered stand towards the back of the concert site.

But despite his trouble viewing the stage, the King appeared to be delighted when attending the event. He was seen waving a Union Jack as the various singers performed. 

The King and Queen invited representatives from across government, the Church of England, creative arts, volunteers and policing involved in the historic day to the Palace yesterday.

Others who helped plan and run Queen Elizabeth’s funeral were also invited and personally thanked by Charles and Camilla at the event attended by the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.

Broadcaster Clare Balding, who provided the BBC commentary for the coronation processions to and from Westminster, recalled a slight faux pas during her presentation at the event. 

She said: ‘I managed to say – which is a perfectly acceptable horsey phrase – that the Princess Royal had been very quickly mounted, and joined the procession. I didn’t bat an eyelid at that.

During the concert, the King and Queen were seated alongside other members of the Royal Family and VIP guests in the Royal Box. It was arranged within a tiered stand towards the back of the concert site

Take That perform on stage at the Coronation Concert 

‘I didn’t even realise. When I got home, my partner Alice said, “You seem to have caused a bit of a stir.” But that’s just the sort of thing that would make them all laugh.’

The Abbey was festooned with blooms sourced from the UK by Mr Connolly, who was the florist for the Queen’s wedding to Charles in 2005 and created the floral displays for the funerals of her father and brother.

He said about the King and Queen’s reaction to the coronation flowers: ‘They loved them and they appreciated every single stem and the fact that it was given by British growers and British gardeners…I think it meant the world to them.

‘And really one of the few things in the Abbey which was about them as people were the flowers, so they were incredibly pleased.’

Among the guest was Penny Mordaunt, who as Lord President of the Privy Council generated huge interest on social media when she carried the Sword of State during the coronation ceremony.

The King and Queen hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace to thank those involved in the planning and staging of the late Queen’s funeral and the coronation

Charles and Camilla welcomed those who worked on the events – titled Operation London Bridge and Operation Golden Orb

The Princess Royal was also in attendance and was photographed in great spirits as she donned a white shift dress and black gloves

Asked about the attention her role received, she replied: ‘I think that was what was so wonderful about the event, you had all this incredible pageantry and you really felt the history and the heritage of it all, but it was a modern service for a modern monarchy.

‘And it was great to see so many women, so many diverse people represented in that procession and I was one of them, and I was just very proud to be there as his first Lord President and the first women to do that role.’

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