“Happy & Glorious”, The Coronation Weekend

“Happy & Glorious” were the 16 letters hanging from the Admiralty Arch on royal blue banners at the beginning of the Buckingham Palace march.

A message from the King to his people for his Coronation Weekend, welcoming the tens of thousands of people who braved the crowd AND RAIN to attend the coronation in person, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Royal Family. If you were one of them, well done! I hope you managed to see them waving graciously from their chariots through the Admiralty Arch, down The Mall and into Buckingham Palace. Please comment down below, I’d love to hear about your experience.

I’m afraid, I wasn’t one of those brave individuals. I made a conscious decision to stay away from Central London during the big event! However, we went around on Monday instead. Thought I ought to do something coronation-esque on the day since the king kindly gave us a holiday.

I realised I am one too many weeks late to the party. Sadly I was juggling sickness and crazy work deadlines, blogging had to wait. But I still wanted to share this historically significant moment in time with you. So I hope you enjoy these behind the scene photos as much as I had fun capturing them for you.

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The Coronation Weekend, Happy & Glorious were the banners hanging from the Admiralty Arch, at the start of The Mall, where the Royal Family paraded through in their chariots.

Happy & Glorious was amongst many volunteers and street wardens to ensure the public's safety — Happy & Glorious was certainly the vibe on the street and amongst the many volunteers, street wardens etc, like these two gentlemen! Oh so candid!

We all wanted to experience what it was like to march along The Mall. I can’t lie, it was pretty surreal, leisurely marching along with everyone heading towards Buckingham Palace. Perhaps everyone was secretly hoping to “bump” into the Royal Family at the end of the walk…

One must always dress the part

This was where the new King and Queen charioted through from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace — The new King and Queen charioted through this arch from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace

I wore a blue and white outfit for the day to fit in with the coronation theme

I paired the softest baby blue wool jacket ever by Weekend by Max Mara with a matching cashmere Lui Jo feathered sleeve jumper, white jeans and tan accessories

Weekend Max Mara Teismo Jacket (currently 35% off) Longer version here (30% off) / Lui Jo Jumper (similar here) | Riess Jeans / Loewe Anagram reversible belt / LK Bennett tote bag / Sam Edelman loafers (similar here and here)

It felt like a blue-and-white theme was in order. So I styled this super soft and comfy wool-blend baby blue jacket from Weekend Max Maran(one of my fine purchases from Sicily), layered with a cashmere jumper from Lui Jo. It came with feathers on the sleeves!! Unfortunately this is now sold out, but similar here. I love the fun and flamboyantness the feathers add to this outfit.

I paired them with my go-to white jeans from Reiss and tan accessories.

This is the perfect layering for a spring day that is still a bit chilly and a cool breeze. The jacket is super lightweight, goes with everything in your wardrobe, and the wool blend fabric is more than enough to keep you warm on this mild spring day.

Now with the camera in one hand and Alan in the other, we took off to check out the aftermath of the Coronation weekend, ready to capture all the behind the scenes that we won’t often see on social media.

Btw, I’m not a die-hard Royal fanatic, so the Coronation Weekend for me was pretty low-key…

But after living in London for nearly a decade, I can’t help but develop this irrational fascination towards them! LOL

The Late Queen was the epitome of elegance and grace, in my opinion! Never a foot wrong nor a piece of hair out of place. And the oh-so-perfect modern Lady, Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton and her plethora of to-die-for-aesthetically beautiful outfits! So I always seize the opportunity to get close and personal with her… via TV of course.

On the actual Coronation Day, we spent it at home in our cosies in front of the TV. I must admit, I was (still am) not thrilled that it is Queen Camilla and not Queen Diana. But whatever!

I was quickly mesmerised by this perfectly orchestrated and seamlessly executed public event, watched by millions and millions of people around the world! From the crowning ceremony to the parade and the trooping of colours. Everything seemed so well coordinated to the seconds. If anyone can pull off a major national event, it would be the British!

Sunday, we went to our friend’s place for their 40th birthday dinner and then watched The Coronation Concert together. It was lovely. Double happiness!

And this was Monday…

The British really know how to dress up the street for special occasions

All the main streets in central London were decorated with Union Jack flags. The iconic Regent, Oxford, and Piccadilly Streets all decorated. But there were lots of smaller streets that were also decorated with flags.

All the main streets in London were dressed in Union Jack flags

Many shops, restaurants and hotels joined in the celebration by dressing the shop front and lobbies. I particularly like the aesthetic of this entryway with “Long Live the King” phrase and hanging wicker baskets of beautiful spring blooms.

Many shops, restaurants and hotels also dressed their entrance for the occasion

They deserve a close-up. Aren’t they just so so beautiful?! Imagine having these hanging at your front door… Wouldn’t it just bring so much joy every time you come home?!

Fresh flower baskets hanging beautifully on the arch of the entrance to this building

Some post Coronation behind the scenes from The Mall

The Mall and flags of the Commonwealth countries

Trucks and trailers were going in and out of The Mall taking barriers away

More behind the scenes from the Coronation Weekend where workers are dismantling all the gates and barriers

We saw many trucks and trailers driving in and out from The Mall clearing out the barricades from the road, and hundreds of portable loos. Slowly returning everything to normality. There were also a lot of street wardens directing people in traffic and making sure people are not in the trucks’ way.

It’s pretty impressive when you think about it. To cater for an event with hundreds and thousands of people. All the organisation and the workers involved. Setting things up and then tearing them down. Maintaining order and civilised at all times.

I’ve never considered this before but it really does take an army to put this event together. So it was humbling to see these behind the scene activities and there are still hundreds of people hard at work post the event. I wonder how much longer till they’re done?

A floor of red tulips at the Coronation Weekend

The Savoy Hotel is always on-point with their themed decorations

We headed to the Savoy to check out their decoration and for afternoon tea — We made our to the Savoy to admire their on-point decorations and their delicious afternoon tea

Beautiful Royal themed floral arch with different tones of purple wisterias — How gorgeous are these Royal themed floral hallways, carefully put together with different tones of purple wisteria

The lobby was decorated with large floral arrangements in Royal colours, ready for the Coronation weekend. — The lobby was decorated with large floral arrangements ready for the Coronation weekend

Have a Coronation afternoon tea in this beuatiful space — This is where you can have a Coronation afternoon tea. That wisteria birdcage!

Painting of the Late Queen hangs elegant in the room — A truly spectacular painting of the Late Queen

The Savoy is already beautifully decorated on a normal day, but when it comes to festivities and celebrations, Savoy really does go the extra mile with their arrangements. So I always make an effort to go check them out. I also highly recommend their afternoon tea but make sure you make a reservation well ahead of time. Unfortunately, we didn’t, so they couldn’t accommodate us.

Stop by at The Delaunay for a meal

We popped into The Delaunay for a lovely lunch

Finally we popped to The Delaunay for a meal. The Delaunay is the sister restaurant of ever-so-popular The Woleseley. This was our first time visiting and I was pleasantly surprise. With great food and lovely atmosphere, it was perfect place for a quiet meal.

What a great way to end the day and the Coronation weekend. Now I have something personal to link back to this historical weekend.

How did you celebrate the Coronation weekend?