King Charles’s coronation ceremony is officially over. It was undoubtedly a well-organised and impressive operation – but it wasn’t all just glamour.
And there were a few elements of the entire event which we still need to discuss.
1. The Royal Family had the power to censor BBC coverage
As The Guardian revealed the day before the coronation, Buckingham Palace is allowed to veto the broadcaster’s footage of the big day.
The BBC is supposed to be impartial, but the newspaper has found that the broadcaster was sending material to Palace officials in the days before the coronation to get approval.
According to the report, the Palace then decided various items could not be used, with negotiations over footage allegedly going on until just hours before the coronation started.
The BBC is meant to be leading in its coverage of the historic events and sharing with other international broadcasters.
The report raised questions about the extent of the constitutional monarch’s power.
However, the broadcaster did tell The Guardian: “We are focused on delivering great coverage and don’t recognise any characterisation that suggests we ever compromise our editorial integrity on any of our output.”
2. The cost of living crisis is still happening
There’s no question that the ornate display made plenty of people uncomfortable, especially in the middle of the cost of living crisis.
The King has also been the sovereign since the moment his mother Queen Elizabeth II died back in September – so why was such an expensive event required?
The moment the King and Queen rode in the gold carriage between Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace was particularly jarring for some.
It’s been used at every coronation since 1831 and isn’t actually made of solid gold, but the sight of it was perceived to be distasteful.
One person on Twitter pointed out: “While you applaud a rich man in a gold carriage, the guy next to you who works 50 hours a week, cant afford the family shopping at Lidl.”
3. Anti-monarchy protesters were arrested
Around 1,500 protesters were said to be demonstrating the coronation, dressed in bright yellow so as to attract the most attention.
A man with an unused megaphone was arrested shortly before the coronation actually began, with police saying it could “scare the horses”.
According to Sky News, more than a dozen people were arrested although the Met Police had only confirmed seven arrests by early afternoon.
Human rights organisations were quick to criticise the move, with one group calling it a “totalitarian crackdown”.
Nathan McGovern, a spokesperson for Animal Rising, said: “This is nothing short of a totalitarian crackdown on free speech and all forms of dissent. Just Stop Oil, Republic, and Animal Rising have experienced the true character of this Government’s attitude towards peaceful protest today.
“We are sleepwalking into fascism and it is every single person’s responsibility to stand up and say ‘no more’.”
It also comes shortly after the government’s Public Order Bill came into effect, which gave police more powers to deal with supposed “disruptive” protests.