King hugs grandchildren in touching documentary scene
THEY are not renowned for their public displays of affection. But the Royal family will be seen on camera hugging and kissing as the King greets his beloved grandchildren behind the scenes of his Coronation rehearsals.
The King welcomed Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to Westminster Abbey in the days leading up to the May 6 event, in footage that will be broadcast as part of a BBC documentary.
The Right Rev Richard Jackson, Bishop of Hereford, says in an interview: “I think what struck me particularly was how extraordinarily affectionate they are.
“They’re clearly a very close family, all the generations, and in a sense you felt part of a family occasion as well as a royal occasion and a national occasion.”
The King’s younger son, Prince Harry, made it to the Coronation itself, but he was not present at the rehearsals. His children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the King’s other grandchildren, stayed at home in California with their mother.
A BBC One documentary about the Coronation shows the Waleses attending a rehearsal at Westminster Abbey. The Prince holds the hand of his younger son Prince Louis, who is dressed in a blazer and smart shorts for the occasion.
Princess Charlotte wears a pale blue patterned dress and white cardigan, while 10-year-old Prince George, holding his mother’s hand, is in a suit.
The King greets them with a double kiss on the cheek for his son and daughter-in-law, and hugs and kisses for his grandchildren.
The Princess is seen to curtsey to him, with Princess Charlotte appearing to perform a polite bob.
The Prince of Wales goes on to a laughter-filled practice of the kiss of homage, a central part of the Coronation tradition, with his father.
It is the most personal and affectionate display ever seen among the three generations of kings and a far cry from the royal life described by the Duke of Sussex who, in his memoir, said “the older generation maintained a nearly zero-tolerance prohibition on all physical contact”.
“No hugs, no kisses, no pats,” he wrote in Spare. “Now and then, maybe a light touching of cheeks ... on special occasions.”
Charles III: The Coronation Year is on BBC One at 6.50pm today.