Painkillers helped me cope on big day – Penny
Joe Buncle
Portsmouth MP Penny Mordaunt has revealed that she took painkillers to prepare for her role in the coronation of King Charles III.
As lord president of the Privy Council, the Conservative politician attracted worldwide attention when she carried the 3.6kg Sword of State for over an hour during the ceremony.
Speaking to the BBC’s Radio 4’s Political Thinking podcast, Ms Mordaunt shared her preparations for the role, including taking the drugs and using her military background.
She said: ‘I was not in the gym six months prior to this. I think you want to make sure you’re in good nick and I did take a couple of painkillers beforehand just to make sure I was going to be alright.
‘We got through it and it’s only half the ceremony I had to carry the Sword of State – which is the really heavy one – and then I traded it in for the very exquisite jewelled Sword of Offering which was much lighter.’
Ms Mordaunt previously thanked her training in the Royal Navy for helping her to remain composed while standing for long periods of time.
Offering advice for anyone presented with such a task, she added: ‘Like anything you’re preparing for, don’t leave anything to chance. Have a good breakfast, wear comfortable shoes.
‘I had a great team with me – the chaps who haven’t got any plaudits at all, the former defence chiefs who were standing behind me with the other swords in the ceremony. We were all there supporting each other and we’d obviously been talking under our breath at each other during rehearsals, keeping each other going.’
Ms Mordaunt, the Leader of the House of Commons, carried the 17th-century Sword of State in procession to the abbey.
She later exchanged the Sword of State for the Jewelled Sword of Offering and delivered it to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The second sword was briefly clipped to the King’s coronation sword belt and then, after a proclamation by the archbishop, Charles stepped forward and offered up the sword.
It was then placed on the altar and redeemed with ‘redemption money’ by Ms Mordaunt.