How Prince Louis Lightened the Mood After King Charles Got ‘Bored’ During Coronation Rehearsals

Simon PerryMon, October 12, 2026 at 11:31 AM UTC

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Prince Louis, front right, with his sister Princess Charlotte, and parents Kate Middleton and Prince William, on the balcony at Buckingham Palace at King Charles’ coronation on May 6, 2023Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty -

Prince Louis helped to ease the tension in the run-up to King Charles’ coronation in May 2023

The little prince, then 5, lightened the mood during rehearsals for Charles, who had become “bored,” an attendant has revealed

Dame Penny Mordaunt, who was one of the entourage on the day, made her comments at a literary festival in the U.K.

Prince Louis has the magic touch for his grandfather King Charles.

As the King, 77, rehearsed for his momentous coronation in May 2023, the preparation had been draining and he appeared “bored out of his mind,” a participant in the historic event has said.

However, when little Louis appeared at one of the final run throughs, King Charles’ mood switched up dramatically, Dame Penny Mordaunt revealed.

Prince Louis, who was just 5 years old at the time, was also rapt with interest in the precious Crown Jewels which were used in the ceremony, Mordaunt shared at the Cheltenham Literary Festival on Saturday, Oct. 10, The Telegraphreported.

Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis watch King Charles’ coronation from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on May 6, 2023Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage

As Lord President of the Privy Council, Mordaunt carried the ceremonial Sword of State during the event.

She recalled of Louis, who is the youngest child of Kate Middleton and Prince William: “We were doing dress rehearsals on the Thursday before, and the King was bored out of his mind. He’d just done two weeks of this, and he’d had enough. I was watching him glaze over in the coronation chair.”

“And then he suddenly sprung to life because beside him was Prince Louis, who had come to visit. They stopped the rehearsal so that he could show Prince Louis all the Crown Jewels. That’s a memory that I shall treasure,” Mordaunt continued.

Penny Mordaunt carries the Sword of State ahead of King Charles’ coronation at Westminster Abbey in central London on May 6, 2023Credit: Victoria Jones / POOL / AFP via Getty

Mordaunt became one of the most talked-about members of the royal entourage as she carried the 8 lb. Sword of State at the King’s coronation, with her standing out in a cape that was decorated with gold-leaf style embroidery. She was the first woman to fulfill the role.

Mordaunt said at the Cheltenham Literary Festival on Saturday that the royal family wrote to her afterward to thank her, and jokingly accused her of stealing the show, The Telegraph reported.

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Prince Louis, who turned 8 in April, has a reputation for his scene-stealing behavior at royal events, such as pulling faces and covering his ears during Trooping the Colour festivities and making faces at his mother during the Platinum Jubilee parade.

“He’s a character, but he’s a very good boy,” Prince William once described his youngest, the Daily Mailreported. “He likes to wind his brother and sister up.”

King Charles waves to the crowd from Buckingham Palace after his coronation in London on May 6, 2023Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage

Mordaunt has spoken before about the attention she received for her role at the coronation, and the strength that was required to hold the ceremonial sword.

A few days after the historic ceremony, she was asked by Political Thinking podcast host Nick Robinson: “So how much pumping iron was there before you picked up that sword?”

“This story has developed and it’s run away with itself. I was not in the gym for six months prior to this,” Mordaunt, who had been a Conservative MP for Portsmouth North at the time, explained.

“You want to make sure you are in good nick, and I did take a couple of painkillers beforehand, just to make sure I was gonna be alright,” the politician laughed.

“But it’s fine, it’s all good, we got through it. And it’s only half the ceremony, I had to carry the Sword of State, which is the really heavy one, and then I traded it in for the very exquisite Jewelled Sword of Offering,” she added.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”