King Charles III has officially been crowned the king of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth territories as of May 6, marking the first British coronation since 1953, which in turn means it’s the first British coronation to ever be witnessed by a sizeable number of guests and other observers.
One of these people is Penny Mordaunt, who both played an important role in the coronation and made history doing so, but who exactly is Mordaunt, and what made her job in the coronation so special?
Who is Penny Mordaunt?
Penny Mordaunt is a British politician, a Conservative Party member, the current leader of the House of Commons, and the current presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. She is responsible for organizing business, both government and non-government, to be put before the House of Commons, and chairs the meetings of the Privy Council, where she also presents business for monarchy approval.
What was Penny Mordaunt’s role in King Charles III’s coronation?
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Penny Mordaunt was tasked with carrying the Sword of State, one of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom that symbolizes the Monarch’s authority, through Westminster Abbey as per coronation tradition.
She then exchanged the Sword of State for the Sword of Offering, another Crown Jewel (symbolizing a monarch’s duty and dignity), which she then presented to King Charles III, placing it in his right hand before having it clipped and then unclipped from his girdle. She then carried the unsheathed sword before Charles for the remainder of the coronation.
Mordaunt made history at Charles’ coronation for being the first woman to ever offer the Sword of Offering to a monarch during their coronation.