King Charles was 'bored out of his mind' during Coronation rehearsals but sprung to life once Prince Louis came to visit, says Penny Mordaunt

King Charles was 'bored out of his mind' during rehearsals for his Coronation ceremony - until Prince Louis stopped by to cheer his grandfather up.

Charles, 77, is said to have paused rehearsals for the event to show the young royal - who was five at the time - the Crown Jewels, according to Dame Penny Mordaunt. 

Speaking at Cheltenham Literature Festival, the former defence secretary, 53, told an audience the monarch 'suddenly sprung to life' after Louis, 8, stopped to visit following two weeks of dress rehearsals that left the King 'bored'.

Dame Penny - who is Lord President of the Privy Council - attended Coronation proceedings as part of her role in carrying the ceremonial Sword of State during the ceremony, held on May 6, 2023. 

She said Prince Louis's surprise visit to Westminster Abbey during rehearsals is a memory she will 'treasure'.

Dame Penny said: '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.'

Former Conservative MP Dame Penny is the first woman to have presented the Jewelled Sword of Offering to a monarch in British history. 

At the beginning of the Coronation, she carried the 17th-century artefact through Westminster Abbey and held it until it was presented to King Charles. 

She was praised for her composure during her sword-wielding on the day, remaining poised when handling the 3.6kg, 1.2m long weapon. 

Labour MP Chris Bryant described Dame Penny as 'mightier than the sword' following the event, while Labour MP Emily Thornberry posted on X: 'Got to say it, Penny Mordaunt looks damn fine! The sword bearer steals the show.' 

But behind the scenes, Dame Penny told the audience, things were a little less glamorous. 

'Before the ceremony kicked off, we were all lined up in the cloisters in Westminster Abbey, ready for when the end of the procession had come through London,' she said.

'We would join the end and, as we went up the aisle, then the Royal family would arrive, timed to perfection. But I was going to have to wait around with this whopping great sword, and I thought, we've got to stand here for a couple of hours before we even go in. I'm not having that.'

Dame Penny - who sported a nude pair of heels on the day - declined to wear the black and gold privy councillor court outfit worn by her male sword-carrying predecessors, instead opting for a teal-coloured Safiyaa dress and matching hat embroidered with a fern embellishment. 

She recalled to the audience the issue of wearing high heels while waiting for the event to commence - saying she refused to wear the shoes until it was time to walk through Westminster Abbey. 

She said: 'I said, 'Well, I'm not putting my heels on.' So I was there in this fabulous demi-couture dress, with these great big fluffy slippers on, with all the Pursuivants of Arms, who had got their robes stuffed with Fruit Pastilles, and I had this nightmare that I was going to forget to put my shoes on.'

Dame Penny was previously tasked with officially announcing the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II and proclaiming Charles as Britain's new King. 

Opening proceedings at the Accession Council in 2022, she formally announced Elizabeth's death before calling upon the Clerk of the Council to read aloud the text of the Accession Proclamation before the body signed the document.

The document includes Charles's chosen title as King, already known to be King Charles III.