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CNN Live Event/Special
The Coronation of King Charles III. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired May 06, 2023 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: The bells outside Westminster Abbey ringing as all eyes are on King Charles, Queen Camilla as they get into the coronation procession during the Imperial State Crown to the Gold State Coach last used during the pageant, the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth back in 2022.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: You saw Anderson as the King was about to get into this carriage. He handed over the scepter. The orb with the cross on the top is the symbol of authority from Christ that is what it symbolizes. And the scepter is the symbol of power. And here now you have them getting into -- the King looks a little bit more relaxed coming out than he did going in. You got the impression that it was incredibly tense. That they would --
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: You can see Harry -- Harry in the background there.
AMANPOUR: All the family are there.
COOPER: -- watching as his father --
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Has been given a prominent position in this carriage only a monologue this consultant traveling.
[08:05:02]
COOPER: There's Prince Andrew as well as -- in the --
AMANPOUR: Yes, in the --
FOSTER: -- in uniform, so they're not allowed to wear their military uniforms. And during the carriage, they both had their military honors, stripped away, but you'll see Harry was in metals. And Andrews not wears his gotten uniform.
COOPER: Prince George, the grandson of the King is standing outside, one of the cages.
FOSTER: Went absolutely seamlessly from my point of view, having been briefed so much about what to expect it all played out absolutely perfectly. It was only that moment right in the beginning when the carriage arrived early, and the whales is weren't quite in position. And they resolved that. And considering how intricate this was, a quite an extraordinary affair.
AMANPOUR: I think we're going to really be discussing maybe in the days and weeks, and we'll see it in the press, whether this did what they wanted it to do, to thread the needle between what is anachronistic, and an exclusive ceremony that no other country, even the royal heads of state, the Crown heads of state who are at the ceremony, no other country does this kind of ceremony. And of course, at a time like this, with so much of the current politics and history and economy playing particularly in this country, there was a great deal of sensitivity to how this would go down. And was there enough done to make it look like a relevant and modern ceremony. And I think we'll hear a lot about that in the days to come.
COOPER: We are about to witness a procession, the likes of which this country has not seen in 70 years.
FOSTER: An extraordinary, the Gold State Carriage, I mean, it's in a stable, we have to take a wall down to get it out, it doesn't come out very often. It's quite uncomfortable to travel in, but 4000 troops will be part of this procession. There'll be one mile long. So when it reaches Buckingham Palace, the end of it will still be at Downing Street. It's going to be quite extraordinary with a Commonwealth upfront. But then all three other services represented all the way along it, a very complicated affair. And this is a four-ton carriage. It's extremely hard, it can only move at walking pace, it takes for Windsor grey horses, the King's own breed to take it along, and they're going to be towards the back. And then after them, you'll see some other carriages with other senior royals and a couple of cars, and then it will make its way here. But this will be I think, a spectacular moment of pomp and pageantry, probably the heart -- you know, the most pomp we've seen.
COOPER: It's the largest military procession since Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. What a day, I mean for Queen Camilla a day, probably for a very long time, she wondered if this day would ever come obviously.
FOSTER: This was her crowning moment. I know that sounds like a cliche. But for so long, it's been building up her brand to a point where the public would accept her as queen. And this was Charles' strategy is what upset him so much about Prince Harry's book, where he suggested that Camilla had been leaking stories. He didn't want anything to get in the way of this moment. And it's happened. And now we're going to see the public reacts really to the newly crowned King and Queen. So the -- that query is about to give the order for the carriage to leave. And then you see this extraordinarily intricate moment play out over the next 20 minutes or so.
And she's beaming. I mean, Camilla, I mean, we were talking when we about how Charles wasn't necessarily smiling. I think he was pretty stressed at the beginning because of that timing issue. But then it became a solemn occasion for him a moment where he was appointed God's representative on earth. And you had the anointing, which was a private moment. So I think it was solemnity, but then Camilla's role is always to calm things down and put a smile on everyone's face.
AMANPOUR: And of course, you know, some of the touches were very different than the Queen's coronation. The actual oil use for the anointing came from Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. And it was -- it's vegan in line with the princess sensibilities. And that is obviously very different. It's not I don't believe, obviously the same oil that was used in the Queen's coronation.
FOSTER: Well, actually, I traveled with Charles to Jerusalem, where he went to his grandmother's grave on the Mount of Olives.
AMANPOUR: There you go.
FOSTER: But he chose the tree around the grave.
AMANPOUR: Well, there you go, Max. My goodness, I know that right, that's brilliant.
COOPER: We should tell our viewers they are -- this procession is heading back here to where we are at Buckingham Palace, and will culminate ultimately, once the family has gathered with an appearance on the balcony, which is obviously a tradition we have seen. The balcony appearances I think began back in 1903, I think it was -- was the first time.
AMANPOUR: We will all discussing this amazing and unusual female presence. The Penny Mordaunt, who is, you know, leader of the commons, and she is known as the Lord President of the Privy Council. The first ever woman to do that. And Twitter was exploding with who is this person.
[08:10:00]
COOPER: And there's Kate and William in their coach.
FOSTER: Yeah. So you'll see all the members of the royal family following behind.
COOPER: Kate and William obviously with their children. Louis made it through most of the ceremony, I think disappear for a bit.
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: -- was that he would retire once he was in -- great this language, once he was in the church, but actually he wasn't retired for a very long period.
COOPER: He's definitely looking outside and waving to the crown now.
FOSTER: And then he obviously left, I don't know what happened then he was brought back in. There are images already going viral about of him, yawning during one of the moments. He does get the photo moment. A lot of people also talking about Princess Charlotte and how, you know, impeccably she behaved as well. I mean, she's always really steps up to these moments.
COOPER: And a remarkable day for Prince George to be witnessing holding part of his grandfather's --
FOSTER: Yeah, he's going to remember. He's nine years old. And I think, for me the most emotional moment was the two moments when William presented himself to his father, and when he kissed his father and pulled back as he pledged allegiance. You could see the emotion on Charles' face because he has to hand all of that over to William one day. So this was all regilded in 1977 for the Queen's silver jubilee.
AMANPOUR: It's also interesting Max, isn't it that look, Prince Charles, as he was, has been the longest ever King in waiting, Royal and waiting 70 years, he's the oldest one to become the Monarch. And basically England and the world --
COOPER: There's Harry.
AMANPOUR: England and the world -- there's Harry, know him, unlike his mother, who was presented to the world in a big way, in 1953, in the first ever live broadcast ever, and it just happened to be this event.
COOPER: And there's Louis.
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: -- whales all back together because George travelled with the other pages on the way there and now they're all together. William would have had to make a decision about how involved he wanted them to be, a big decision. But they have now got this as a memory, haven't they? And then after -- you can also see just behind the carriage Princess Royal is rising as well, Princess Anne, and she's really picked up this role protecting the monarchs. You'll remember at the funeral she was --
COOPER: Playing the extraordinary role and received -- I mean there was really an outpouring of affection for her -- for her role during the entire funeral.
FOSTER: The carriage behind the Wales is the two Duchess of Edinburgh with their children, then you have the Gloucester's as well and Tim Laurence, who is Princess Anne's husband. And then finally you've got the Kent's in the car at the back of the procession.
COOPER: It's amazing, this coach was commissioned in 1760, first used by King George III, to travel to the State Opening of Parliament back in 1762. It's been used in every coordination since that of William IV in 1831.
AMANPOUR: Princess Anne who doesn't often give interviews. There's Harry again. We're wondering --
FOSTER: He's maintaining that relationship with Andrew's children in particular.
AMANPOUR: Yeah.
FOSTER: And they --
COOPER: That's -- so we're saying those are --
FOSTER: Yeah, and that's how he's managed to keep his connection with the family. I think that he and Charles have worked towards rebuilding bridges.
COOPER: There's Prince Andrew.
FOSTER: They've had some discussions. The big tension is William and Harry. William will always have a say in any big occasion like this. Will Harry appear on the balcony? We'll have to see. It would have had to be a joint decision between William and Charles. I think that.
COOPER: Harry, though, will be at Buckingham Palace. Do we know?
FOSTER: How knows?
AMANPOUR: There was -- I don't know whether this was actually, you know, properly sourced or not. But there was some thought that Harry would leave after the coronation and go back to the United States for his son's birthday.
FOSTER: Yeah.
COOPER: Today is his son Archie's fourth birthday.
AMANPOUR: So his team aren't, you know, they're not giving a running commentary on any of this. They want this -- they're allowing Charles merely to take the headlines today. Like the entire family. It's all about allowing Charles to have his big moment when he is so long lived in the shadow either his mother or his first wife or his children, this is when we -- the king steps up and the world needs to decide are they going to engage in his narrative.
COOPER: The massive procession is making its way back to Buckingham Palace. The king and queens arrival. The royal salute from 4000 troops. That is next, a short break. We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:18:39]
COOPER: And welcome back to London and this spectacular display, a pomp and circumstance. Right now a royal procession featuring the newly crowned King Charles III, Queen Camilla making its way back to Buckingham Palace. They're joined on this journey by 4000 troops from the armed forces, from Commonwealth countries and British territories around the world.
I'm here with Max Foster and Christiane Amanpour. CNN's Matthew Chance is along the route on the mile. And Matthew, how's the crowd reacting to this historic day? The rain has stopped temporarily.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, it hasn't deterred anyone here. You can see we're about 20 rows back from the beginning. How is it guys? Was it worth it coming?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, great fun.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely, really good day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been amazing. We want to see the king in a minute.
CHANCE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, that's all.
CHANCE: I mean, good luck with that. If you could see anything at all. I can't see anything at all but all along here you can see there's people from all parts of the world, waving their flags, dressed up, like Dave over here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charles close to my hear.
CHANCE: You said you were going to do that, Dave. Thank you. Thank you for that. And you've come here from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, from the (inaudible) England.
CHANCE: Off the south coast of England. And you've been here six o'clock this morning?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Commitments. It must be done. My makeup dripping a bit.
[08:20:00]
CHANCE: Why you all come out, why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, this is a really, really a moment in history for this country, I think. We've got -- we lost the Queen last year and now her son taking over, so amazing.
CHANCE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been amazing.
CHANCE: All right. Well, good. Well, you have it, Anderson, just walk up here, there lots of other people. I suppose this woman over here is great, because I've got told you I come back to you. You've got your little girl here as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
CHANCE: You've been -- you've just got here, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CHANCE: And so it's been a massive day of walking, you tell us about it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you've come -- well, last night we came from Exeter, stay with my mom in Surrey. And this morning came up from Victoria, came up to Victoria and we've walked all around up to Hyde Park.
CHANCE: Why it's so important. Why is it so important for you to be here? Just very briefly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom always brought us up for these big events. And it was important for me for my children to have a similar experience. And they do like it.
CHANCE: Are you liking it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
CHANCE: OK, all right and --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said, you can't see this every day.
CHANCE: You don't. You said, you don't see this every day? You certainly don't. And they have it a carnival atmosphere here in the center of the British colony.
COOPER: Yeah, Matthew, thank you. I mean, I remember coming to London as a child to seem to changing the guard. I mean, to be a child in this crowd and see all of these military bands, the 4000 troops that king and queen. I mean, it's an extraordinary day for so many.
AMANPOUR: It is. And even though this does go back a thousand years or more, you just can't help wondering. And again, I do think this is going to be debated. Does he have it? Does he have what Queen Elizabeth had? Is it the right time at the right place? How are they going to again to use that expression, thread the needle? We know that -- you know 58% and majority the British people still support the Monarchy, obviously, but the younger ages are less affected by it, it affects their daily lives much less. It's not saying that here they want to overthrow it or abolish it. But it's just less of a thing than it was in the 70 years of Queen Elizabeth. But, you know, this kind of military parades --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: Possession is made up of Commonwealth.
COOPER: This troops, Prince William, Catherine, their children will be -- they're all heading toward here at Buckingham Palace where they will then as a family appear on the balcony. Of course questions remain, will Prince Harry be invited onto the balcony with them. We shall see. Well, Prince Andrew, I want to go to Julia Chatterley who is watching this with her team as well. Julia, just extraordinary to see this on the streets of London this day.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And you know, I'm struggling to tear my face away from the images and the majesty of the moment that we're seeing. I'm glad to see the gold stagecoach quite frankly, because now I do think with all the (inaudible) we've got the celebration and we've moved on from the celebrity I think that we saw. And also I'm palpably glad now to see the relief on King Charles' face because I do feel like there was a nervousness and you could see that the weight of expectation and what's to come this moments about celebration and scale and majesty.
KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: It was an incredible celebration in this, the 40th monarch be crowned in Westminster Abbey. This ceremony that goes right back to 1066. And before the Anglo-Saxon kings the anointing, it's both so mystic and old and yet so new. And I completely agree. Charles looked at times overwhelmed right solemnity of the occasion, the emotion of the occasion. But this is now the moment where they go back and they have their combination coronation, celebration lunch, and just think -- we've seen in just a space of the year, the Platinum Jubilee. What a moment. The Queen's funeral. A moment we will never ever see it again such a touch to people across the world. And now this carnation the new reign, Charles is now the king, that has such key roles for the future kings, William V, and George VI.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah, I suppose that key moment I think perhaps if we do look back to what we saw in that ceremony, the kiss between --
TRISHA GODDARD, BRITISH TELEVISION PRESENTER: The emotion -- emotional Charles --
CHATTERLEY: Father and son.
GODDARD: The emotion on Charles' face, I think, and that's what I keep coming back to. This is a family. So you had all of that pomp and circumstance where that was William's role to do that. But then Charles isn't afraid of showing his emotions. That's a big difference from his mother. And I just think to me, that was a really poignant moment. All those little things like no, Louis yawning in the audience. That I looked for the family.
CHATTERLEY: I know, I know.
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAMS: Let's have a Louis moment.
SALLY BEDELL SMITH, ROYAL BIOGRAPHER & AUTHOR: We saw a great deal of solemnity.
GODDARD: Yes, yes.
SMITH: -- to King Charles and I think he must know that. as Walter Bagehot said that being king is grave, formal, important, but not exciting.
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: Wild imaginations, stir blood, you know, yet -- and that's what he's left behind.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah.
SMITH: And he's already told us when he spoke after his mother's death that he was ready to adopt the gravity of the role. And yet, in the ceremony, he put his own imprint on advice by emphasizing the lads service and embracing the whole notion that he -- yes, he is the defender of the faith, but he is also -- and this is something that he has pledged in the very beginning that he would defend other things.
CHATTERLEY: Richard, you're frowny?
WILLIAMS: Richard, frowny, yes.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Well, because what we witnessed today is obviously as the family bid and this and that, that and the Louie and all that. But you also witnessed and I think this is the core to what you were just saying, at the solemnity, you witness somebody who's taking over the monarchy. As you can see from these pictures, he's taking over a system of constitutional monarchy. It's not just the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is the 15th realms. It's the 50 odd countries that are in the Commonwealth. And so he's now head to Chile and democratic but he's head of a system.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, and he doesn't have any power. But he has influence.
QUEST: And he's been -- he's been waiting for this moment for 60 odd years. Now, anyone who remembers when he was the whole investiture.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 1969.
QUEST: Absolutely, I was seven at the time. I do remember though. And the investiture Prince of Wales. So I think he was absolutely overwhelmed. But this is a symbolic moment of changing government systems monarchy to save monarchy.
CHATTERLEY: Richard, I'm going to stop you we're going to save it. There's plenty more to discuss and to come but for now Anderson, I'm going to hand it back to you.
COOPER: And we're watching here from Buckingham Palace as thousands of troops are heading towards Buckingham Palace where they will all gather in front of their Monarch. There's Princess Anne, riding as she did to at Westminster Abbey as well.
AMANPOUR: Yeah, and she's been given a very prominent role in actually heading the honor God following right behind her brother, the King's carriage and, you know, it's important. She is a woman. There's been a lot of female representation in the coronation ceremony. Female bishops that never were before. As I said, The Lord President of the Privy Council, Penny Mordaunt, who kind of came to public knowledge during the accession, when the king took over after his mother's death, she was very heavily involved, obviously, in the important ceremonies there in the handover.
And today, in that amazing sort of Greek style outfit that she had, she presented the coronation regalia to the king, and then walked ahead of him and ahead of his procession out of the Westminster Abbey. So that was really interesting. And I know a lot of people online or social media, we're trying to figure out who exactly as she is. She is a member of parliament. She is head of the commons. And she challenge as we see the -- here, it comes by us. And we can see that.
COOPER: The Gold State Coach.
AMANPOUR: Yeah.
COOPER: Which Max, you got a close up look at four generations -- four generations of a family have cared for that coach.
FOSTER: Yes, there's a guy walking behind it. He's in charge of the brake. And this is a four-ton vehicle which spreads very slowly. And it's a pretty responsible job when you've got the king and the queen in the carriage and they're wearing those crowns. His grandfather and great grandfather, but we're both riding horses for the Gold State Coach at the last coronation. So this father was actually working on the last year of Jubilees, so four generations of gold carriage style.
COOPER: Yeah.
FOSTER: This is such a big moment for this particular family.
COOPER: And it's such a big deal also for Prince William. I mean, again, not only there you see, Louis, quite excited, seemingly talking to the -- some people in the crowd as he goes by. For Prince George who was part of the -- was a page for his grandfather, but for Prince William watching this through the eyes of somebody who is next in line.
FOSTER: And already fully thinking how he would want to present himself and his coronation. But actually today was about him pledging allegiance to the king for the rest of his life. Suggestion being that he's going to serve until Charles -- Charles has made a commitment now to God, as Elizabeth did, that he's going to serve for the rest of his life. There's no discussion here of application (ph). And William at Birmingham pledge allegiance to the king, as well. So as this pouch heads into Buckingham Palace.
[08:30:00]
COOPER: Look at that -- look at that image and that's just the extraordinary. Grenadier Guards, the band, the Grenadier Guards marching towards Buckingham Palace.
FOSTER: And they will all line up in the Buckingham Palace garage. And they will give a honorary salute to their commander in chief who is the king. So for the military that's got a massive moment behind the palace coming up.
COOPER: Yes, and there already, I mean that at least 1,000 If not close to 2,000 and probably these soldiers already assembled sailors as well. Members of all the branches, the British military.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And what's going to be interesting obviously, it's planned for to be 2:30 p.m., our time 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time is the balcony and the flypast and we don't know yet maybe you know, Max, I don't know whether they've told us but an hour before they're going to make a decision as to whether this very traditional and big crowd pleasing flypasts would be able to make it with this weather.
FOSTER: Haven't been told it's not happening. So we're hoping it will happen. On the balcony moment, this is used to symbolism the Queen use it very effectively to express the modern monarchy. So you remember she slimmed it down. So I think we're going to get a big message from Charles about how he sees the future of the monarchy it is just him in the Wales is, he saying this is a slim down monarchy to reflect a cost of living Christ.
COOPER: And I mean the scale of the obvious show many eyes are going to be on their balcony to see whether Prince Harry is invited to go out with the Phantom.
FOSTER: He's not looking positive, I have to say. We saw him getting in a call heading in a different direction. But we'll have some more information on that when the balcony up there as this happens.
COOPER: The other person who is not in attendance here is Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Prince Andrew.
FOSTER: Yes, so her --
COOPER: Her daughters are here.
FOSTER: Yes. You know, one of Lady hits (ph) who is one of the Queen -- was one of the Queen's bridesmaids wasn't invited either. I mean, some people said Charles has been quite ruthless. But it's actually him, I think expressing that he is there for the whole nation. He wants to reflect it and it's not just going to be aristocratic and blue blooded people appearing at this event it has to be a wide range and, you know, behind us of course. We've got the -- all the seating -- all the seating they think in a prime position and they are nurses and social workers and that's what Charles wants to express.
COOPER: There's Catherine and Prince William.
We're going to take a short break any moment and iconic royal salute. 4,000 troops will honor the new King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Buckingham Palace. We'll return in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:36:49]
COOPER: And welcome back to CNN special coverage to this once in a lifetime event King Charles III, Queen Camilla returning here to Buckingham Palace arriving in their stunning gold coach. Now, there's the arrival after the procession from Westminster Abbey. 4,000 troops will perform a royal salute to honor their new monarchy.
Here with Max Foster and Christian Amanpour, there's a crowd of probably about 1,000 or so nurses and members of the National Health Service who are applauding.
FOSTER: (INAUDIBLE) position.
COOPER: Yes.
AMANPOUR: Can we just point out that this is another one of these moments that we have to reflect on.
COOPER: Look at this.
AMANPOUR: Because a lot of these people have been out on strike. And these are the hardest working people they've seen through the pandemic, they've seen through all these years. And they have been on strike because they're just suffering under the current economy, them and many, many other sectors of the workforce in this country. There's going to be a bank holiday as there always is for working men and women. And that's on Monday.
But it is a moment of real emphasis and importance how this will go down and how this new king and his queen will actually be relevant to people who are not as they were back in 1953, when we was the, you know, Britain was celebrating a renaissance after World War II, the economy was only going to build, you know, they had won the war. It's a very different moment right now.
FOSTER: This is the Buckingham Palace garden.
COOPER: Well, I was going to say. Explain where that is, because so we are --
FOSTER: So the carriage has gone into the quadrangle, which is in the middle of the palace. So it's a square palace with the empty quadrangle in the center. And then all of the military, 4,000 members of the military are gathering in their units in Buckingham Palace Garden.
And then you're going to see the King and Queen come out on the west terrace --
COOPER: It's a quite a garden.
FOSTER: -- it's what where we are. Where we are, and they're going to come out and are going to receive a royal salute from 4,000 members of the military paying tribute to their commander in chief. So this is a huge moment for them, but also for him as a military man as well.
COOPER: And then after that, that is when we anticipate probably in about 30 or so minutes from now, the appearance on the balcony where a lot of eyes will be looking to see who is there, who is not there.
FOSTER: Yes, so the initial appearance will be huge -- who's central to my monarchy, and then whether or not he invites the wider family is a question. You know, it will be outstanding. I mean, he may well invite his entire family. He may well just keep it to him and, you know, the people that are the working royal so that would be the whales is the Edinburgh's.
And maybe it was the people that were in the procession, basically the (INAUDIBLE) the Gloucester thing many people wouldn't know, but to carry out public duties. Harry and Andrew aren't working Royals, so they wouldn't be expected to bear in that. But if it was a wider group with cousins, then they wouldn't expect to there but I'm getting the impression Andrew's come back and how he hasn't.
COOPER: Yes, I mean, it seems like Andrew has certainly had more of a prominent role today than the Prince Harry.
[08:40:02]
FOSTER: I think will be defined by the balcony appearance, but he suddenly had a limousine and Harry didn't have a limousine. What do you think, Christiane?
AMANPOUR: I think this is the soap opera part of this whole royal story, perhaps the entire thing can appear to many around the world to be a huge sort of, you know, Disneyland soap opera, clearly there's so much history goes back 1,000 years or more, and it has had the role over the centuries of trying to unite a country.
But in this modern era, we've got Harry who has chosen to move back and to essentially describe what it's like to be the younger brother in this monarchy. And of course, it caused quite a lot of controversy also, quite a lot of people read and watched his story whether it was in the Netflix documentaries or Amazon books spare.
Prince Andrew is a whole different issue. He to like Harry, were war heroes, Harry in Afghanistan, Andrew drew the Falklands, but his relationship and the current and the following court case, and all of that in the Epstein affair has really caused a very dark light on Prince Andrew.
And in my opinion, I find it very interesting that he's given this kind of prominence and Harry is sort of maybe, maybe shut out in the cold a little bit more.
COOPER: Yes.
AMANPOUR: It's a strange issue.
COOPER: Salma Abdelaziz is in the crowd with some people as we await the salute from the 4,000 troops who are still gathering. Salma, what are you hearing?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's important to remember here, Anderson, is that this is a moving event. And now people are preparing for the next step, of course, which is that balcony moment. You can see people are gathering near these assigned walkways, assign routes, they're hoping that this mall will open up of course, and they'll be able to make it to that balcony moment.
And one of the families hoping to do that, I want to introduce you to them here. Kaylee (ph) and her son Delaney (ph). First of all, Delaney, you got to see the Gold Coach. You were standing on a pink suitcase to do it. What was that like?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was amazing moment to be able to see as we all love the royal family. ABDELAZIZ: And you love that and you had the outfit? What was it like were you so excited? Were you happy? What do you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shocked because this is my really cool moment.
ABDELAZIZ: And Mom, you've been standing in the rain since yesterday. You camped here. Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because the children want to be part of their and what a lovely memory to come in and do this combination for our King, probably the only King I'm going to see. And I've shown them the right way so they will follow that on in their life.
And I just think it's a really important part for British people especially to make sure you embrace the Queen and the Queen Royals.
ABDELAZIZ: And the next step, of course, is the balcony moment. What are you hoping to see?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of them. We've been to London a few times and so far, we've only actually managed to see the King so we would like to see the prince.
ABDELAZIZ: Anything else you want to see Delaney before you go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not really.
ABDELAZIZ: You've seen it all, you've seen it all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. George.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wanted to be George.
ABDELAZIZ: That's your last thing. Thank you guys so much. Good luck making it out there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
ABDELAZIZ: So you're going to see this whole big crowd, thousands of people, Anderson, trying to make that move to get that glimpse of the balcony.
COOPER: I love Delaney's outfit. He is really decked out. He did it right this morning. What a quite an experience that he will no doubt remember his entire life and perhaps one day bring his children to another coronation in the future.
Again the military units assembling here at Buckingham Palace for that royal salute. That should be an extraordinary moment to witness, again something we have not seen for 70 years.
FOSTER: Yes, essentially all those troops are going to line up in the back garden in marching order and then we're going to have this moment the royal salute when the king arrives on the west steps.
COOPER: It's so interesting -- FOSTER: Probably delayed by the, sorry, size of the images. It will -- it's quite intent logistically for the military to have done everything they've done. They've just got to disperse everyone from that garden as well. And --
COOPER: I keep thinking these are sounds you only hear in London during these sorts of events. I mean the horses, you know, it brings you back to Princess Diana's funeral and Harry talking about the sound of the horses, the sound of the hooves hitting it was one of the hit the memories that he held on to from that day.
AMANPOUR: And that is also interesting, isn't it? The tragedies and the celebrations --
COOPER: Yes.
AMANPOUR: -- that follow really quite a similar script.
COOPER: The ritual which play out in good times and in bad.
AMANPOUR: It's going to be interesting to see. I assume like for the, you know, previous Queens --
COOPER: The empty Coach now being returned.
AMANPOUR: An empty Coach.
FOSTER: Sir William will be arguably the next person that will travel.
COOPER: That will not be used until the next coronation.
FOSTER: Well, they use for Queens jubilees.
AMANPOUR: Yes.
FOSTER: But the Queen didn't travel in it the next person. Only the (INAUDIBLE) in it and it's only meant to coronation. So, it Mary (ph) -- William will be the next person to travelling.
[08:45:00]
AMANPOUR: We're going to see whether they open up the mall which they should do to allow other people now to move towards the palace to watch the balcony.
FOSTER: We've got Commonwealth.
COOPER: (INAUDIBLE)
FOSTER: Yes, miss. So she, yes, so she's got a senior role with the cavalry. So she's often representing there. They're got the RAF, the army, the Royal Navy, household troops, and the ceremonial bodyguard. They're all they're facing all in the same direction. And then there'll be plenty --
COOPER: There's also troops from Commonwealth countries -- FOSTER: Yes.
COOPER: -- from -- and territories.
FOSTER: Absolutely. And they've been rehearsing with everyone else are these airfields in the southwest of London. And this is -- I think this is a moment of relief for the procession has gone pretty well. And now they're felt the final moment to pay their respects to the commander.
COOPER: As somebody who was a student of British history and as a child was fascinated by British colonial wars, to see 4,000 British troops dressed up like this in these, you know, in these squares, I mean, you -- the only times you would have seen this in history is during war, or coordination.
AMANPOUR: That's right. And obviously, in all those years since the idea of Empire has become something that's not as wanted. It used to be clearly for obvious reasons. And that whole colonial experiment, it has essentially evaporating, if not evaporated.
You know, this is really important to also talk about the idea of reparations and other such thing, which this king has said he's willing to entertain investigations into even the royal family's history of slavery and the like. And it's really important to talk about this.
And even India, which was the last great jewel in the crown, so to speak, has a very different relationship with the monarchy right now. There is a prime minister of Indian descent. And that is an idea of great pride to many people in this country. And this king has paid attention and tribute to what is now a diverse nation, unlike it was during the reign and the coronation of his mother.
FOSTER: And this is amazing. 1,000 musicians will be playing at the same time, several -- more than a dozen bands. And we'll know when the king and queen are there because they'll remove their headdresses. And then they'll --
COOPER: And I should point out, this is still a bit off because we're still seeing hundreds of troops moving toward Buckingham Palace. We're seeing some Grenadier Guards passing us by right there.
FOSTER: There are (INAUDIBLE) like the terrace so far. So, I think they're waiting for the bands get ready to come (INAUDIBLE).
So people around us actually most of them watching on big screens, great atmosphere. And it's strange, the Brits sort of respond well to rain.
COOPER: And people just ignoring the rain, just stiff upper lip --
FOSTER: Yes.
COOPER: -- and just --
FOSTER: Track on.
COOPER: Track on. Now --
FOSTER: So the cavalry heading back to the barracks, they're not part of this. So they're clearing the way. They've completed their duties protecting the network on the procession.
COOPER: Will the King and Queen appear at this?
FOSTER: Just -- if we bring up the next picture, you'll see the terrace just on the left, they'll come out there.
COOPER: OK.
FOSTER: They're all facing the middle.
COOPER: And then that, of course, is the balcony where the family will appear?
FOSTER: Yes, so that's going to be a bit later on a building site behind that. So be very careful about creating safe.
COOPER: There's a whole series of -- there's a concert tomorrow and people are being encouraged around the -- let's watch. Let's go back.
There have been events in schools in the run up to these classrooms across the country celebrating --
FOSTER: Including George's School.
COOPER: In Prince George's. Yes. I wonder if he invited his classmates.
AMANPOUR: Did he get a plus one? Anderson, tomorrow is what they call street party day. So Sunday will be when many roads across the whole nation will be closed off. And people will take out their trestle tables and their lunches or teas and basically meet and mingle with their neighbors and friends and street parties are a big part of many, many --
COOPER: There's a street party on your block.
AMANPOUR: Well there is, Anderson.
COOPER: That's nice.
FOSTER: You may attend.
AMANPOUR: I will be attending. I have not made a quiche. Can you imagine that this is what -- what is got to a controversy over coronation quiche versus coronation chicken.
[08:50:05]
COOPER: I talked to Dame Joan Collins last night who has a coronation chicken when she got from Marks and Spencer, which she said is very good. She was not a believer in the quiche.
FOSTER: And she went to Marks and Spencer?
COOPER: No. She just didn't. She said, there's vegetables in the quiche. She didn't want it. So weird, the king and queen will be coming out to appear on that terrace.
FOSTER: They're going to remove their headdresses as they come out. And then there'll be the royal salute. And they'll be playing music as well. 1,000 different members of bands, it's extraordinary. They forget it right, they could be very proud of themselves.
COOPER: They will then go back inside, there's a gathering of family inside.
FOSTER: Yes, so they're preparing for the balcony moment in the flypast more than 60 aircraft flying over. So that's always a big highlight. But there's a private lunch. But crucially, the formal coronation pictures will be taken by a very familiar photographer to the family, Hugo Burnand. Huge amount of pressure today.
COOPER: And here they appear. Just watch. King has the same pages as he did during -- the during the coronation, Prince George, they're on the line.
FOSTER: Different row from the one he went to the coronation and this is a separate row, several rows involved in. This Camilla's outfit has been made for her, a robe is new. So that's one of the few new elements to all of this as a recycled one the Charles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Parade will remove headdress. Remove. Headdress. (INAUDIBLE) Majesty, the King and her majesty the Queen. Hep, Hep.
ALL: Hooray.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hep, Hep.
ALL: Hooray.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hep, Hep.
ALL: Hooray.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The parade will replace headdress. Replace. Headdress. (INAUDIBLE)
AMANPOUR: Can you just point out that the discipline of this picture is pretty amazing. Those Armed Forces have spent most of this day in the rain. It's been raining. They haven't been inside an Abbey or undertand. And they are continuing as they presumably would obviously have to do in battle to deal with the elements. And --
COOPER: And most have been up all night getting here by train many of them. But it's such a part of tradition again, hep, hep, hooray three times. FOSTER: And this is King Charles III. This is their mass pipers and drums played King Charles III. A lot of the music we've heard today was written for this occasion. And it's obviously a real honor to have done that.
COOPER: Which Prince Charles was very involved with even selecting the composers to be composing music for this day.
FOSTER: So the Church of England is actually entirely responsible for the service. But he was very involved in all of the music chosen today to reflect, you know, his belief in God but also diversity of the British nation and the military.
This was, you know, that was the moment for the commander in chief to address his mass military and it was a pretty spectacular moment. And you can see the emotion on this place, and on his face on many (INAUDIBLE).
COOPER: It is a day where the multiple roles of the monarch are clear head of the Church of England, head of the military as well.
AMANPOUR: And not just the Church of England but now defender of the faith and no faith. So it is, you know, it's still officially a Christian nation.
[08:55:01]
But this correlation, you know, diverged with the idea that he was just head of the Christian faith and defender of all the fates that are represented in this increasingly diverse nation now, which is a big departure and important.
As we see all this this ceremony, I can't help but wondering, obviously it's not going through his head right now. But you know, Charles I he had his head chopped off. Why, because he had -- was considered to interfere too much with parliamentary process. There was a civil war, Charles I was executed. And then there was an interregnum and then Charles II came back.
But, you know, this King has so many real world interests that are really important and some have written that you would be well served as king to take up issues that matter so much to the people like climate, which is not a political issue.
COOPER: The crowds being allowed to approach closer and closer toward Buckingham Palace and royal family now getting ready for one of today's most anticipated moments, the Balcony of Erin's (ph) who will join the newly crowned king and queen outside Buckingham Palace that is next during our special coverage.
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