Mischievous Charles ‘ran off with crown’ after coronation, recalls Queen’s maid of honour
One of the maids of honour at the Queen’s coronation has recalled how a young Charles ran off with the crown when his mother later removed it at Buckingham Palace.
Lady Rosemary Mildred Muir was the most senior of the six maids and told Sky News how the then prince was a bit of a handful in Westminster Abbey.
“There was a box with the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret and Prince Charles and a few aunts and uncles I think…
“I was sort of leaning against this table where all the silver and gold were – and the box was just the other side – and you could hear Prince Charles running up and down and the Queen Mother sort of getting hold of him and telling him to sit down.”
The four-year-old also took the chance to nab the priceless crown when they all went back to the palace, says Lady Rosemary.
“And of course when we got back to Buckingham Palace and the Queen took off her crown, put it on the table, and he appeared and grabbed it and shot up the passage with it.”
As one of the maids of honour, Lady Rosemary helped the Queen out of the royal carriage and organise the train of her dress.
She says the young Queen was “absolutely marvellous, so cool, calm and collected” – and took the enormity of the occasion in her stride.
“She just said ‘ready girls’ – and off we went… No apparent nerves at all – not with any of us I think,” says Lady Rosemary.
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Lady Rosemary – whose uncle was Winston Churchill and was raised in Blenheim Palace – says the day was chilly but proceedings went like “clockwork” – not least as she’d been involved in eight rehearsals.
The described the scene inside the abbey as “like a jewellery box” because it was packed with aristocrats wearing their family jewels.
“It was magical. The music, the colour, the whole sense of majesty was amazing. It was so beautifully choreographed…”
“You really felt it was a tremendous religious occasion… It was very moving.”
She says the crowds were also amazing – especially when she joined the royals on the palace balcony.
“It was a great uplift to everybody because the war, it was like a new area – which it was,” recalls Lady Rosemary
Her dress for the big day – for which she’d had numerous fittings – went missing about 10 years later when it was sent to be renovated.
Pic: Emma Telford
She told Sky News it was eventually found rolled up in a plain laundry bag – with a label reading ‘party dress’.
The King’s coronation will be a smaller affair than his mother’s – but still a spectacle of pomp and pageantry. Check out our ultimate guide to the day – and get the crown in your living room with out immersive AR experience.
A woman who was stabbed to death in north London has been named by police – as a man was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Pamela Munro, 45, was found with a stab wound and died at the scene in Ayley Croft, Enfield, on Saturday evening, the Metropolitan Police said.
A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on Monday and is in custody, the force added.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil John said: “Investigating officers have worked relentlessly across the weekend to investigate the circumstances around Pamela’s death.
“We continue to support her family who are understandably devastated.”
Police at the scene at Ayley Croft in Enfield
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The Met Police has asked anyone with information or who was driving through Ayley Court between 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday and may have dashcam footage to contact the force.
A “British man” has died after being beaten and set on fire by a mob in Ecuador, according to reports by media in the South American country.
According to reports, the man – who has not been officially identified – had been detained by police after being accused of being involved in a fatal shooting.
Ecuadorian news outlet Ecuavisa reported that the man had been taken to a police station Playas del Cuyabeno, a remote village in the Amazon rainforest.
While there, a group broke into the station and took the man away. He was then set on fire in the street, it is reported, and died from his burns.
The incident reportedly happened in the Playas del Cuyabeno area of Sucumbios province
Another local report, from EXTRA.ec, said that specialist police units had been slow to arrive due to the geographical conditions of the area – which is accessible by river.
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According to reports, police officers at the station apparently decided they could not intervene when the mob arrived out of concerns for their own safety.
It is understood the UK Foreign Office is following up reports about the incident and working with local authorities to confirm the details.
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