Care home residents celebrate King Charles’s coronation

Care homes were festooned with Union Jack bunting to celebrate the coronation of King Charles, with residents enjoying tea parties, coronation-themed quizzes, live music, as well as Pimms and cocktails.

One care home, Hendon Hall in London, even had a visit from former royal correspondent Jennie Bond, who shared her memories of the late Queen Elizabeth II and of following the royal family on tours around the world.

‘I never knew the monarch’s crown was so heavy’

Malcolm Spiro, a resident at Hendon Hall care home said: “I really enjoyed the session with Jennie Bond, and felt we all learned a lot about the King and the Royal Family. I never knew that the monarch’s crown was so heavy!  
 
“Jennie is clearly the expert on all things Royal Family related. Ahead of the Coronation on Saturday, there was nobody better to take us through the ceremony and to give an insight into King Charles III and his wider family.”   

Care home residents celebrate coronation with Pimms

At Leeming Bar Grange care home in Leeming Bar, residents sipped on Pimms and tucked into red, white and blue cakes and pastries.

Michelle Keep, manager at Leeming Bar Grange said: “We’ve all had such a brilliant time celebrating the Coronation, such a momentous occasion.  Our staff and residents love the Royals and so they were all so excited to take part.  

“It has been a real collaborative process – thinking about how we wanted to celebrate, planning our activities, decorating the home and creating all the party food.  It was so lovely to be able to invite our friends and family to come and join us for a proper celebration too.” 

Residents celebrate coronation with pen and pin badge

Residents at the Royal Star & Garter’s three care homes, in Solihull, Surbiton and High Wycombe, enjoyed street parties, live music and goody bags which included a coronation pen and pin badge for all the residents. 

On Saturday, residents gathered to watch the coronation service together in communal areas, before tucking into a celebratory lunch. In Solihull, this was traditional fish and chips wrapped in newspaper, following a request from residents.

Later that afternoon, the High Wycombe Home hosted an indoor street party with residents enjoying Prosecco and a homemade buffet they had prepared themselves. Surbiton also held a street party in its reception area, enjoying cakes, Pimms, Prosecco and a singalong. At Solihull, staff hosted a tea party, with singing and dancing. 

Royal Star & Garter’s director of Care, Pauline Shaw, said: “I’m delighted we were able to celebrate this special and historic occasion with our residents. They have a deep love and affiliation for the royal family, and it was important for them that they could be part of the national festivities. The fact that VE Day fell during the long weekend made everything that little bit more special for us.”

Care home residents shared opinions on the new King

As well as celebrating, some residents shared their opinions on the new King with carehome.co.uk.

88-year-old Cynthia Gardner, who lives at Eden Manor Care Home in Carlisle, believes the late Queen is a hard act to follow, saying: “I think King Charles will be okay but I don’t think he will be as good as his mother. I think he has big shoes to fill, his mother was amazing”.

Claire Braybon, 64, resident at Hastings Court care home in East Sussex, part of Oakland Care, praised the King for his humanitarian ventures and his care for the environment. 
She said: “I think there is a lot to be said about a man who years before global warming and the planet’s environmental struggles were mainstream topics of conversation, was heavily invested in looking towards our planet’s future.”

Being a monarch is a ‘thankless task’

Another Hastings Court resident, Rita Swain, 96, the same age as the late Queen, was sympathetic to King Charles due to the constant scrutiny he is under. 

She said: “His generation of Royals were the first to live their lives in the spotlight of tabloid newspapers and televisions, any mistakes and indiscretions he made became public knowledge and public chatter instantaneously, a hard life for anyone, and an impossible life for a person who to the world needs to be seen as flawless.

“But Charles unlike so many, has taken responsibility for his misgivings and continued with the job he was assigned with a stiff upper lip, without or showing any sign of the burden which, he carries, a thankless task and one where I feel many would have faltered.

“I can see that there are a lot of pros and cons to a country having a monarchy, however, given the current socioeconomic climate that we are living in where it feels that politicians are entirely disconnected from the people that they are meant to serve, it gives me a small level of reassurance to know that there is a final line of defence against our country plunging into chaos.” 

‘King Charles is a lovely man’

Muriel, who lives at Royal Court care home in Cheltenham was 100 years old last October and was one of the first to get a card from King Charles.

She watched the late Queen’s coronation back in 1953 on the television saying “it was a long drawn out affair, it was very well done.  We didn’t have many celebrations then.” 

“I think King Charles is a lovely man, not only handsome and good looking, but I think he has a lovely speaking voice, and intelligent.  I think he is too advanced for some people.  He really has got a first class wife.”

97-year-old Anne Wilson, who lives at Charlotte House care home is a year older than the late Queen and revealed that when she was little, she had to wear similar dresses to the royal family and when she used to protest her mother would say “if its good enough for the princesses its good enough for you”.

Rhona Handcock, 92, who also lives at Hastings Court care home said: “King Charles is someone to be admired, in the face of public scrutiny, mocking and at times bullying behaviour. Charles has stood fast on his ideals and maintained his stance on improving the environment and looking forward to Britain’s future. Although from the outside, being king sounds like a job which anyone would kill for, the enormity of his responsibilities should not be overlooked, I certainly wouldn’t want to do it.”

The late Queen ‘had our respect and was a leader’

In Bristol, residents from Charterhouse Care Home, part of St Monica Trust, reminisced about Queen Elizabeth II and her legacy but were confident that the new monarch will step up to the challenge. 

Ron Wallington, 87, said: “The late Queen did such a lot for Britain and really brought people together. She had our respect and she was a leader.

“King Charles is a very charming, hard-working person. I like it that he is keen on protecting the environment and is spreading awareness of climate change. He has also done a lot of good for young people through the Prince’s Trust. I think he will make a very good king.

“I think people were wary of Charles when he was a prince and lot younger and they didn’t like Camilla but now they like Charles and Camilla is very popular.”

‘Queen Elizabeth II was a wonderful woman’

Another resident at Charterhouse Care Home, Ruth Pryce, 95, was full of praise for Queen Elizabeth II. 

“I thought Queen Elizabeth II was a wonderful woman. She was a great source of support to people during WWII. Because it was wartime there was no them and us. She really brought people together.

“So far I have been impressed with King Charles. I like that he is concerned about the countryside.  I feel that he will make a good king. He comes across as a good person and as a nice person. 
“If I was to meet King Charles, I would thank him for taking on the role of king. I have no idea what it is like to be a king but it seems as if it is a real burden to be a king or a queen. I think it is good to have a monarchy but only as long as the king or queen is a good person, as if the wrong person is on the throne, they can do a lot of damage.”

‘She was a constant presence in our lives and a huge loss’

A spokesperson for carehome.co.uk, said: “Care home residents have such fond memories of the Queen and were deeply saddened by her passing. She was a constant presence in their lives and a huge loss. 

“However, it’s great to see there is a lot of admiration and empathy for King Charles. His campaigning on environmental issues and his call for action on climate change has gained him respect from people of his generation and that of the late Queen.

“Many residents remember Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation and hold the monarchy in high regard so watching Charles being crowned king will be nostalgic as well as comforting in that it signals the continuity of tradition.”