Ninety seconds of pageantry was enough for me.
I find it boring.
But it isn't silly. It serves a purpose. The ceremony shows that everyone is on board acknowledging that Charles is the legitimate king.
I watched Charles sitting there on his throne and thought about his 74-year-old bladder and worried for him. Does he get a bathroom break? I wondered if his robes and regalia would get in the way of that. I was thinking about the wrong thing, I realized. The minister was calling on the public to pledge allegiance to the new king. That was the important thing.
Nothing the minister said meant as much as the coronation spectacle itself. Charles had the crown, the throne, the special robes, the scepters, the swords, the 350-pound historic rock underneath the throne, and the buglers. Everyone was on board, dressed as required, sitting and watching.
Trump refused to participate in the inauguration of Joe Biden. That, too, was unmistakable body-language. In the weeks between the 2020 election and inauguration he directed his executive agencies not to assist in the post-election transition. The General Services Administration refused to allow office space and facilities for the Biden transition team to start the background checks and financial disclosure procedures that would allow staffing of the 4,000 appointments. Criticism that this endangered national security finally forced the GSA to obey the Presidential Transition Act.
I had under-estimated the significance of legitimacy in conferring power. I know better now. I had fair warning from watching the power of Trump's "birther" accusation against Obama. The idea that Obama is "other" and not "one of us" has appeal to a significant block of voters, and Trump tapped into that. The doubt lingers. A YouGov poll in December, 2017, almost a year after Obama had served 8 years as president, revealed that 51% of Republicans still think Obama was born in Kenya.
Trump understands political combat. You undermine political opponents by attacking their legitimacy. Never concede. Never give up your accusations. One undermines their argument by first undermining their identity. One's friends want to believe you, not evidence, not third parties, and all one is asking them to do is doubt. A Monmouth poll taken eight months ago shows that 61% of Republican voters still say they don't believe Biden won the 2020 election. One doesn't need proof to undermine legitimacy; a leader needs to raise questions and never be satisfied with any answer. People who have full faith in the legitimacy of their own birth certificate doubt documents issued by the state of Hawaii for Obama. Examination of the records in Hawaii are of no avail. Maybe Hawaii lies. The team leader has doubts.
Republican candidates elected in 2020 accept the validity of their own elections, but claim widespread fraud in the election of Biden elected with the same ballots. Forensic audits, recounts, and hand counts don't matter. The team leader is adamant there was fraud. That makes the issue "doubtful."
The royal coronation is body language of legitimacy. Potential rivals in the royal family, the government, the church, the extended body of courtiers, and the media are on board with the coronation. Even people who think Charles is a wacky environmentalist and an overdressed, adulterous fop married to an ugly usurper, have a spectacle to watch. It is a show of overwhelming force and unanimity.
Prince Charles is now King Charles. For real. Like it or not.
Peter: you are right on. Your comments, including the bladder, are very appropriate including the aspects of a total acceptance of who is now in charge. Neal Jacques
I, for one, don't like it. I'm against monarchy. Yes, I know that constitutional monarchies are more stable than are democracies without a monarch. Still, I stand with Diderot.
Royals are parasites. Their entertainment value is not worth their upkeep.