King Charles and Queen Camilla fail to bring jubilation to coronation: ‘They look miserable’

London erupted in jubilation for the coronation of King Charles, but the monarch himself and Queen Camilla seemed anything but cheerful.

King Charles and Queen Camilla on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

In London

It was a day we’ve not seen for over seven decades.

And the coronation was a celebration worth waiting for, with up to 1.2 million people turning out in the rain to witness the crackling processions and official crowning of King Charles and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey in London.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including myself, hit the streets before the crack of dawn to secure an ideal vantage point, despite it being hours out from the royals’ call time of 10.20am. Others had been camping out on The Mall for over a week.

And then, we met the moment. The first glimpse of Charles and Camilla en route to the Abbey from Buckingham Palace in the majestic Diamond Jubilee State Coach.

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Knee-jerk emotions of, “Oh my god, I’m seeing royalty in the flesh,” were swiftly followed by cocked eyebrows.

“They look bored,” one person in the crowd said, taken aback by the royals’ sterile-seeming mood in the face of the roaring crowds. “Maybe they’re nervous?” another pondered.

The first procession would be smaller in scale, to represent humility pre-crowning, before the return procession exploded in size to reflect celebration of a new monarch.

So, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt.

Up to 7000 personnel were involved in the procession back to the palace, but punters were more enamoured with the gargantuan Gold State Coach than Charles and Camilla’s robotic waves and muted expressions.

Our new King and Queen looking positively miserable. Picture: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images

Then they stepped foot on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the crowning moment of a coronation day – a unified wave to the people who’d waited outside for days for this grand juncture.

A Royal Air Force flyby, which had to be reduced in theatrics due to the miserable weather, zoomed above leaving a stream of blue, white and red smoke in its wake, and painting the Union Jack into the gloomy skies of London.

Raucous applause broke out from the public as revellers chanted in unison, “God Save the King!”

And yet, those whose presence triggered such fanfare, looked … bored.

Charles and Camilla on the boredom balcony.

They say one picture tells a thousand words, so all the photos from the balcony are giving us a rather dusty tome.

Still bored.

Bored but waving.

The British royals are associated with a stiff upper lip, seldom wearing their hearts on their immaculately-tailored sleeves (unless you’re Prince Harry).

But even the late Queen has been immortalised in photographs during the annual Trooping the Colour, cheerfully reacting to the pomp from the balcony of her primary residence.

Were it not for five-year-old Prince Louis’ colourful behaviour, the famous balcony shot – a stamp in the history books – would have been about as dull as Question Time in parliament.

We can always rely on Prince Louis to provide the theatrics. Picture: Leon Neal / POOL / AFP

Thank god for the children. Picture: Leon Neal / POOL / AFP

After making a not-so grand exit out stage left, Charles and Camilla returned to give the public what it deserved – an encore wave. A real rockstar move from royalty.

But AC/DC this was not. Camilla looked too fussed about her billowing robe, and the duo could barely muster a smirk, let alone a smile.

Charles and Camilla look tired, bored and a bit miserable. Not the vibe I was expecting. #Coronation

— Kate Nancarrow (@Kate_Nancarrow) May 6, 2023

Just become king and queen, quarter of a billion spent. Look how miserable these bastards are

#Coronation  #CharlesIIIpic.twitter.com/nAy2RBkFuu

— Kris (@MisterRichens) May 6, 2023

Charles looks immensely miserable, making this whole bizarre thing even stranger. Millions of people watching this hours long event where the protagonist seems to be a gold-clad hostage. #Coronation

— Glenn McConnell (@GlennMcCNZ) May 6, 2023

Thoughts on #Coronation. Charles looked thoroughly miserable throughout - his funeral face and his coronation face were indistinguishable. Solemnity doesn't have to be this joyless... pic.twitter.com/kqIYkeo1iY

— Jo Hemmings 🇺🇦 (@TVpsychologist) May 6, 2023

What a joyful day, not! #Coronation As miserable as Sunak on election day! pic.twitter.com/GHMPyv9CZb

— Marc Davies (@marcdavies17) May 6, 2023

For most of the droves who turned out for the big day, thankfully there were ample distractions from the somewhat underwhelming attitude from our new King and Queen.

Julie, 58, from the UK, was one of those who stood in the rain for hours to have her brush with royalty.

“It’s just magic, all the pomp,” she told news.com.au. “The carriage looked amazing. Charles looked as if he was looking at us. All the horses are perfectly groomed, the uniforms are perfectly shaped, and it was just great.”

Imagine not beaming at this view? Picture: Handout/Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Buckingham Palace

Australian mother-daughter duo Meredith, 34, and Marylou, 70, rocked up in their camping chairs on Whitehall at about 4am.

UK-based Meredith had surprised her mother for her 70th birthday by flying her from her home in Victoria over to London for the big day.

“I was really excited because I wanted to come to the coronation, we may never see this again … Well, I may not, so here I am!” Marylou said.

When you consider the sheer effort folks went to for the event, it’s hard not to feel disappointed that Charles and Camilla didn’t match the mood of their people.