King Charles III’s coronation weekend was brought to a close on Sunday night with a pop concert at Windsor Castle compered by actor Hugh Bonneville and featuring live performances from Katy Perry, Take That, Lionel Richie, Olly Murs, Paloma Faith, Andrea Bocelli and Sir Bryn Terfel.
The event on the historic castle’s East Lawn was attended by 20,000 guests and also included spectacular drone displays in the sky and a moving address by the Prince of Wales, who told his father: “Pa, we are all so proud of you.”
Also taking part in the evening’s entertainment were Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy from The Muppets, new Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa and superstars Tom Cruise and Sir Tom Jones, who paid tribute to the King in pre-recorded messages.
One question viewers watching at home may have had about the evening was the identity of some of the guests joining His Majesty and Queen Camilla in the Royal Box.
Sat to the King’s left wearing a mint green jacket with gold buttons and waving a Union Jack flag with aplomb was Baroness Scotland – or, more properly, Patricia Janet Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal.
Born in Dominica, she is a British diplomat, barrister and Labour Party politician, formerly UK attorney-general during Gordon Brown’s premiership between 2007 and 2010 and currently serving as the sixth secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Baroness Scotland was nominated to the position in 2015 and took office the following year, becoming the first woman in history to do so.
Also taking their seats in the Royal Box were members of the King’s immediate family including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Lady Louise Windsor and the Earl of Wessex.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak, his wife Akshata Murthy and Cabinet members James Cleverly and Oliver Dowden were also among the invited dignitaries.
On Saturday, Charles was finally crowned king during a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey in central London, succeeding his late mother Queen Elizabeth II on the British throne following her passing last September at the age of 96.
Thousands of spectators braved the drizzle to line the Mall and watch the massive military parade get underway as the Royal Family returned to Buckingham Palace in horse-drawn carriages to celebrate the momentous occasion with a Red Arrows fly-past.
