Penny Morduant has revealed she got an unexpected review of her performance at the Coronation from a member of the Royal Family.
The former Lord President of the Privy Council says that after the crowning of King Charles and Queen Camilla, in which she had played a major and notable role, she received a letter from a member of the House of Windsor.
As she carried the heavy Sword of State aloft for over an hour during the ceremony, she attracted worldwide attention and comment.
However, she said that following the Coronation, she was sent a letter by a member of the Royal Family which included the line ”how kind of the King and Queen to come to your event’.”
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Speaking at the Oxford Literary Festival, she refused to name the royal who had written to her and went on to say that she felt the attention she had received on the day of the Coronation was more about the whole event than just her.
At the Coronation, Penny Morduant took on the traditional role of carrying the Sword of State, which weighs around 8lbs. The ceremony required her to stand holding the sword straight in front of her for its duration, with a brief break towards the end when King Charles and Queen Camilla went into St. Edward’s Chapel to prepare for the final procession from Westminster Abbey. However, as they made their way back down the aisle, as the National Anthem was played, it was Penny Morduant who led them, once more holding the Sword of State.
Her choice of outfit for the Coronation also drew plenty of attention. She wore a dark teal green dress and matching headband style hat, both decorated with golden leaves.
The decision on what to wear was a difficult one as she was the first woman ever to perform that role at the Coronation. And she believes she wouldn’t have been asked to carry the Sword of State had she been a man.
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She told the Literary Festival that The King had been determined that his Coronation would be as representative as possible and added ” I’m not sure necessarily that, if I was a bloke, whether the whole of the Lord President role would have been kept in.”
As it was, she took an integral role in all aspects of the accession of Charles III. She had become Lord President of the Privy Council at the start of the tenure of Liz Truss as Prime Minister, which happened on September 6 2022, just two days before the death of Queen Elizabeth II. And so, less than 48 hours into her new role, Penny Morduant found herself tasked with the Proclamation of the new Monarch.
She had a leading role at the Accession Council which took place on September 10 2022. Furthermore, the desire of King Charles to make all parts of his new reign accessible meant that this Accession Council was the first to be televised so Penny Morduant had added pressure to get everthing right.
The comments came as she spoke about her book, Pomp and Circumstance: Why Britain’s Traditions Matter.
