Kate Middleton and her husband Prince William had plenty to do during the coronation. Not only did they have a tight schedule to consider, but also their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. George, the firstborn, had a very prominent role during King Charles’ coronation ceremony, while Louis posed potential problems of an altogether different nature.
William and Kate hardly got off to the best of starts as they arrived late to the ceremony in Westminster Abbey. Ultimately, though, things were a great success, with the Prince and Princess of Wales later celebrating the big day at the Buckingham Palace balcony with their children and the Royal Family.
Yet before entering the Abbey to see her father-in-law be crowned king, Kate reportedly made sure her husband knew what was at stake. Namely, a lip reader has now revealed that the princess gave William a four-word warning.
The coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla was a huge success. Thousands of people lined the streets of London to celebrate the king, while Brits even got a day off work on Monday, encouraged to help their community through volunteering.
King Charles’ coronation
An average of 18 million viewers watched the coronation. In addition, a staggering 32.5 million viewers tuned to the BBC’s coverage.
While many agree that a coronation is a historical, no-expenses-spared event to be celebrated, others argue that the monarchy no longer warrants its place in modern society.
British media outlets speculated that the coronation cost around $120 million, although neither Downing Street nor Buckingham Palace has confirmed the exact cost.
King Charles and Queen Camilla left Buckingham Palace in the legendary Gold State Coach, used at every coronation since King William IV’s coronation in 1831. It was constructed in 1762 and was used for the first time by King George III to travel to the State Opening of Parliament the same year. Eight horses drew the coach on the coronation day – the legendary carriage weighs a whopping four tons.
Compared to Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, Charles and Camilla’s route to Westminster Abbey was far shorter. Once they arrived, though, the couple had to remain in their carriage longer than they should have.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are said to have arrived five minutes early at the Abbey, and had to wait for Prince William and Kate Middleton, alongside their two children, Prince Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Prince William & Princess Kate arrived late at Westminster Abbey
The plan had been for William and Kate to arrive before and be in their positions as the new monarch and his wife entered the historical church.
According to royal biographer Omid Scobie, the delay concerned William and Kate’s children.
“The room for error was nil. And thankfully, due to the weeks of rehearsals that the royals took part in ahead of the coronation, the day went ahead smoothly,” Scobie wrote in Harper’s Bazaar.
“In fact, apart from Prince William and Princess Kate joining the procession late (children were to blame, a source tells me), and Camilla’s ladies in attendance – sister Annabel Elliot, and queen’s companion the Marchioness of Lansdowne – accidentally creating an unfortunate wedgie moment out of her silk Bruce Oldfield dress on the way into the Abbey, very few hitches took place.”
Television cameras caught the king and queen awkwardly waiting in their carriage for five minutes. And now, several lip readers have taken a closer look at what Charles might have said during the wait.
According to lip reader Jeremy Freeman, Charles grumbled: “We can never be on time. There’s always something… this is boring.”
Another lip reader, Jacqui Press, also studied footage of the king in his carriage procession and told Mail Online she thought Charles said: “I’m worried about time, I mean it’s been longer this time and, well, erm, I mean look! I know.”
Prince William and Princess Kate eventually made it to the Abbey, though it took some effort to get there.
Princess Kate – warning to William before entering the Abbey
The future king wore the ceremonial dress uniform of the Welsh guards, while Kate wore an official robe over an Alexander McQueen ivory silk dress. It was decorated with silver bullion embroidered roses, thistles, daffodils, and shamrock motifs, intended to symbolize the different nations of the United Kingdom, CNN reported.
As the royal couple prepared to walk into the Abbey, lined up for the procession, television cameras caught William and Kate speaking. He wore the Order of the Garter mantle, while Kate had the striking Royal Victorian Order mantle.
Yet though it was a day of joy, it seemed as though Kate Middleton had some concerns for her husband before beginning the long walk to the front of Westminster Abbey.
Professional lip reader Jeremy Freeman studied the footage of William and Kate. Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star, the expert claims the princess told William to “just mind the gown.”
The 40-year-old heir to the throne replied: “Don’t worry I got [or caught] it.”
William and Kate weren’t the only ones wearing very special outfits for the big day. Prince George also wore unique clothing rooted in history as a Page of Honor.
Reportedly, the young prince had approached his grandfather, King Charles, and informed him of his desire to wear something different than the usual.
Prince George was afraid of bullying because of his outfit
As reported by the Daily Mail, 9-year-old George decided to make a bit of coronation history by persuading King Charles to change the centuries-old uniform usually worn by the Pages of Honor.
Why? Well, it’s said that the future king feared getting bullied by his classmates at school.
“George, one of four pages assisting the monarch, voiced his concerns about having to wear white knee breeches,” the Mail reported.
A royal source added that Prince George wasn’t keen on wearing tights either because of possible “ribaldry at school.”
One might think that royal traditions aren’t things that can be changed or altered easily. Yet over the years, King Charles has been very open to modernizing the monarchy concerning traditions and the idea of slimming down on the number of working royals.
When his grandson approached him about the subject of clothing for the coronation, King Charles is said to have listened and accepted George’s wishes.
“The King agreed, and the breeches and tights were replaced with trousers. Charles was in no position to object. He had already decided to replace his own breeches with naval trousers. But he distressed his tailor by keeping the buckled court shoes that should only be worn with tights. They crumpled his trews,” the newspaper stated.
Prince Louis also made an appearance alongside his parents and siblings at his first big royal event. He was too young to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II last year, but this time he was sitting in a prime spot. As Louis is only five years of age, William and Kate had a backup plan in case things turned sour, according to got PageSix,.
Princess Kate’s “biggest worry” was Prince Louis’ behavior at coronation
The Palace was prepared to have a nanny present to take Prince Louis away from King Charles’s coronation if he misbehaved.
As it was, Louis behaved exceptionally during the ceremony at Westminster, though his mother had a challenging time. Speaking to the Daily Star, body language expert Adrianne Carter – also known as the “Face Whisperer” – said Kate looked “nervously” at her young son during the event, “willing him to be on his best behavior.”
“]It] is probably her biggest worry during the service,” Carter said.
After the ceremony, the royals traveled from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace. Louis sat with his two siblings, pushing his face against the window and waving to the crowd.
It was a long day for the young prince, and as the hours passed, Adrienne Carter noticed that he began to lose interest in what was happening.
“Louis is starting to fidget,” she commented. “We see Kate have a chat with him, looks like she’s explaining what’s going on. Charlotte also showed a bit of restlessness too but as she’s older she’s able to contain it better.”
Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte were all praised for their behavior over the coronation weekend.
Kate’s special parenting trick
But, according to body language expert Judi James, Kate employed a unique parenting trick to keep them in line.
She told The Sun: “Kate could be seen keeping a very subtle eye on Louis during the ceremony and offering him motivational ‘reward’ touches of affection when he did something right.
“Louis and Charlotte’s signals of total absorption and determination with the archery was exactly how William and Kate throw themselves into anything sporty or competitive during their royal appearances.”
Judi James added: “William and Kate showed they clearly understand the need for all their children to learn to enjoy royal events rather than to dread them by seeing them as a chore, bore, or challenge to get through.
Lip readers had plenty of work to do over the coronation weekend. One revealed what Harry had said of his family in the Abbey, while, as mentioned above, another revealed what King Charles said when sitting in his carriage.
After returning from Westminster Abbey, the Royal Family gathered on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
“There’s a kid missing” – Princess Kate lost track of George
Prince William and Prince Kate joined their children in waiving towards the big crowd gathered below. But at one point, while standing next to Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, Kate Middleton seemed frightened.
Prince George – future King of England – was apparently missing from her eyesight.
“There’s a kid missing … where’s George?” Sophie told Kate, as reported by the Express
Kate looked around but soon found her eldest son standing beside King Charles, out of eyeshot, wearing his red uniform with the other King’s Pages of Honor.
