George, Charlotte and Louis shake off nerves as they play role in abbey day
Alison Phillips
There were moments when little Prince George looked really rather worried about the whole palaver.
He chewed the inside of his mouth on one side… then on the other. His eyes darted around from Grandad looking quite tiny under the weight of his golden robes to Granny Camilla trying to stabilise that impossibly sparkly crown.
So much to take in. Great Auntie Anne in her pirate hat, Ant & Dec off the telly and more outrageous outfits than any children’s party.
Inside Westminster Abbey I sat surrounded by community volunteers, Commonwealth representatives, frontline workers and so many of those people who make up the backbone of Britain.
Oh, and Katy Perry. But we’ll get to her later.
But while those invited were there to honour the King and Queen, it was the young royals who encapsulated them. George, nine, wore a knee-length scarlet coat with gold trimmings over a white satin waistcoat and lace ruff alongside the King’s other pages. If the outfit wasn’t enough of a worry, then surely there was also the thought that one day this would be all about him.
Then it’ll be King George VII receiving the jewelled sword of justice, bracelet of sincerity, robe of righteousness, orb representing kingdoms of the world, ring for dignity, glove for gentleness and sceptre for power. Not to mention the heavyweight headgear.
Or perhaps it won’t be like this then at all. Perhaps this fantastic spectacle of colour, pageantry and extreme religiosity will become impossible in the modern world.
But whatever the future holds, yesterday George played his part as King’s page with aplomb.
It’s not easy being the oldest chi ld (although Unclee Harry may beg too differ).
Yesterday, Georgee was stepping up forr duty while siblingsgs Charlotte and Louisis sat between mumm Kate and dad William.m.
Charlotte, dresseded in an ivory silk crepepe dress and capecape, with ivory satin embroidery of rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock motifs, seemed an eight-year-old oasis of calm.
On her tied- back hair she wore an Alexander McQueen headpiece similar to that worn by her mum. Louis, now a very grown-up-going-to-school boy of f ive, spent the service on tip- top behaviour. Of course the occasional yawn slipped through but that archbishop can go on a bit.
The guests in the nave of the abbey were a mix of service people, volunteers and celebrities.ce And no assassigned seating plans on my side of the abbeyab made for intereinteresting seating permpermutations. LioLionel Richie, who’s probably not sat seconds row of anyanywhere since the late 70s, had to peer f rom bbetweenet two larglarge mother- of the-thebride hats in frontfro of him. AAnt and Dec werewe perched just across the way frfrom Professor ChrisChrisWhittyWhitty, David DimblebyDim and Jay Blades from the Repair Shop.
They were joined by some of Britain’s most defining characters – Professor McGonagall, M, Nanny McPhee and Patsy from Ab Fab.
Between them the real characters who define our nation – those who cooked food for the needy during Covid, those who work with the homeless or help young people from underprivileged backgrounds achieve their dreams.
Current PM Rishi Sunak stepped up to do a reading – and how relieved he and wife Akshata Murty must have been to arrive apart from the procession of former prime ministers.
John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown may be older and greyer but they were moving at pace to create a healthy distance ahead of the calamity crew of the past 13 years – David Cameron, Theresa May, plus the still sniggering Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
At least Truss’s husband had the good grace to look mortified at getting a walkon role in return for his wife unleashing financial catastrophe.
Shortly before the service began a vision in pink plonked into the seat behind me, gushing: “Hi, I’m Katy.”
Multi- award-winning Katy Perry, who’s appearing at today’s Coronation Concert, was six rows back, squished between pillar and a pulpit.
Her verdict at the end? “Awesome… I loved it.”
Well, our royals do know a thing or two about putting on show.