By Sheila Mckenzie-
The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to his father, King Charles, the day after the Coronation, saying the late Queen Elizabeth II would be “a proud mother”.
Prince William took to the stage to make a sweet tribute speech to his dad, King Charles, and also paid respects to his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
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Speaking out to a crowd of 20,000 people, Prince William, 40, began by honoUring the late monarch, who died in September at the age of 96.
“As my grandmother said, when she was crowned, coronations are a declaration of our hopes for the future, and I know she’s up there fondly keeping an eye on us, and she’d be a very proud mother,” William said.
The prince then moved on to congratulating his 74-year-old father, who was officially crowned as King Charles III alongside Queen Camilla, 75, in a historic ceremony Saturday at Westminster Abbey.
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In the speech, Prince William explained that his father had always had a passion for service.
“My father’s first words, on entering Westminster Abbey yesterday, were a pledge of service,” he said.
“It was a pledge to continue to serve, because for over 50 years, in every corner of the UK, across the Commonwealth, and around the world, he has dedicated himself to serve others, both current and future generations, and those whose memory must not be neglected.”
‘I know my grandmother is up there fondly keeping an eye on us’
Highlighting King Charles’ achievements over the last 50 years, William said: “Pa, we are all so proud of you.”
He added: “I commit to serve you all. King, country and Commonwealth.”
King Charles and Queen Camilla , whose dressing was well-coordinated in blue, – smiled and waved their own flags during the evening.
The Princess of Wales attended with her and William’s oldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Prince Louis, who has just turned five, stayed at home after his busy day at the Coronation on Saturday.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were seated near the King and Queen, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak behind them. Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and his ex-wife the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, also attended, as did Zara Tindall and her husband Mike.
Unsurprisingly, there were no public words for king from either Prince Harry or Prince Andrew, and the latter kept a low profile, while the former was in and out of the country in a flash.
Protesters had rightly been warned by police not to mention Prince Andrew’s name in any attempt to ruin the King’s special day, and they stuck to the script, though many were arrested for bewach of the peace.
The crowd of 20,000 people got their tickets in a public ballot, with many more watching performances from stars including Katy Perry and Take That on BBC One and BBC Radio 2.
The concert featured musical acts including maestro Andrea Bocelli and Sir Bryn Terfel collaborating on You’ll Never Walk Alone, and Olly Murs, who sang Dance with Me Tonight, while there were also spoken word pieces amidst the music.
Cold Feet actor James Nesbitt performed work by poet Daljit Nagra, while fashion designer Stella McCartney spoke about conservation.
There were video cameos from a range of stars, including British acting legend Joan Collins, former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, artist Tracey Emin and Welsh singer Tom Jones – all of whom revealed interesting unknown facts about Ming Charles.
And Top Gun actor Tom Cruise delivered a video message from his War Bird plane, saying: “Pilot to pilot. Your Majesty, you can be my wingman any time,” before saluting and banking off.
The King seemed to enjoy a skit involving Bonneville and Muppet Show stars Kermit and Miss Piggy, in which Miss Piggy said “King Charlesy Warlesy” was expecting them in the royal box.
At the end of the show, Kermit was seen to have made it to the box, waving a flag in front of Prince Edward but there was no sign of Miss Piggy.
The Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Ballet, Royal College of Art, Royal College of Music and the Royal Opera also took part in the show.
The royal patronages came together for the first time, with a one-off performance from Romeo and Juliet featuring actor Ncuti Gatwa – the new star of Doctor Who – and Olivier Award nominee Mei Mac.
Members of the Royal Family were seen dancing and singing along to Lionel Richie’s All Night Long – with even the King getting to his feet, as did the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Edward and Sophie, and Zara and Mike Tindall.
William’s speech on stage came immediately after Richie’s performance – with the prince referring to the US singer-songwriter’s hit, saying: “I won’t go on all night long”.
Members of the public celebrated the big occasion with street parties, and almost everybody made the most of the bank holiday.
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