Royal fans flock to Windsor Castle for coronation concert – live updates

A poem debuted at the coronation concert told of a new phase as city skies were lit up across the nation “like a smile”.

James Nesbitt performed a spoken word piece entitled We’re Lighting Up The Nation, written especially for the occasion by the chair of the Royal Society of Literature Professor Daljit Nagra.

The Cold Feet star said: “No one’s an island when each is at home in the hope and glory! Born free – we’re a plucky bunch of every shade.

“From the bronze of the Celts across our Roman roads to Windrush and beyond, today, just now, the spectacular parades of light travelling from Windsor to iconic heartlands across the realm so the kingdom be unified.

“Imagine Edinburgh Castle near monuments for Scott and Burns, or imagine across the waters of Belfast our titanic dockyard and the blood-sweat, the toil that launched a thousand ships.

“Over there’s Blackpool for Punch & Judy, glad rags for the tango and foxtrot, and out for a pint of Newkie Brown by the Gateshead Bridge, that harp of the Toon, the Tyne – it’s all mine.

“Now all Yorkshire beams from the hall of seven-hilled Sheffield, now my heart’s with the famed anthem, the land of my fathers at Cardiff Millennium!

“Everywhere I look, from the golden miles of Leicester with their chicken masalas and jollof rice to an eco-haven amid the botanical gardens of Cambridge like the oasis at Eden with its rainforest under a dome, to our bold promise of the cliffs of Dover, everywhere I look, within our shores, I feel a new phase, new chapter must begin, just now, so let’s light up the nation like a smile!”

There were always going to be a few digs…

Independent TV rounds-up the best jokes at the King’s expense from the coronation conert.

Hugh Bonneville had a go, as did Tom Cruise. Even Prince William!

Princess Charlotte had the sweetest reaction after realising her father, the Prince of Wales, was on stage during the coronation concert (Meredith Clark writes).

The extravagant concert took place on Sunday at Windsor Castle in honour of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, one day after the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey. The coronation concert included a star-studded lineup of performers, from Lionel Richie to Katy Perry.

However, it seems that Princess Charlotte was most excited when her father appeared on stage to deliver a speech in front of thousands of concert-goers.

As Prince WIlliam took to the stage to give a touching tribute to his own father, the eight-year royal immediately stopped waving her union jack flag and pointed towards her dad. Charlotte also appeared to inform her older brother Prince George, who was sitting next to her, that William was on stage.

The Prince of Wales paid a touching tribute to his father at the concert held to celebrate King Charles III’s coronation, saying: “Pa, we are all so proud of you.”

Taking to the stage in front of 20,000 people at Windsor Castle, Prince William praised the King’s dedication to the crown, as well as his environmental and charity work.

William said the King had “warned us of the risks to our planet’s health long before it was an everyday issue.”

He also highlighted the Prince’s Trust, established by his father, which he said “has supported over a million young people, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, to realise their ambitions.”

Looking back at some of the highlights from the coronation concert: Princess Charlotte and Prince George dancing the night away was up there.

The youngsters stood with the rest of the royal box, including the King and Queen, and moved to the sound of Lionel Richie’s hit All Night Long and Take That’s anthems.

Singing along, Charlotte and George waved their flags enthusiastically and swayed in time to the music.

The princess also sang the words to Katy Perry’s Roar and Firework, as the US singer took to the stage in a shiny gold metallic ball gown.

Ahead of Take That’s finale, Kermit the Frog joined the Windsors in the royal box as the Muppet, dressed in a smart suit and tie, bounced on the spot and waved his flag in front of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Kermit the Frog and his co-star Miss Piggy sparked huge laughter from the King during his appearance at the Windsor coronation festival.

The King appeared to chuckle after Miss Piggy described host Hugh Bonneville as a “real Lord” – mistaking the actor for the character he plays in Downton Abbey, the Earl of Grantham.

And the King laughed even harder after she referred to him as “King Charlesy Warlesy” and said he was “expecting” Kermit the Frog in the royal box.

Even Princess Charlotte and Prince George smiled as they watched on intently, while the Prince of Wales laughed along with his father.

Just before Hugh Bonneville introduced the final act of the star-studded concert, Take That, the BBC cut to the royal box, where Kermit waved a Union flag in front of a grinning Duke of Edinburgh.

The King looked to his left as he clapped before Bonneville signed off: “And, of course, thank you your majesties, for allowing us to perform for you here. We sincerely hope you and the frog have enjoyed yourselves.”

An eclectic mix of entertainers, from Take That to Andrea Bocelli, performed a special coronation concert at Windsor Castle in front of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Sunday.

Around 20,000 people attended the event, held on the East Lawn of the castle grounds, with the newly crowned monarch watching on from the royal box. Joining the King and Queen were Prince William, the Princess of Wales and their eldest two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

During the concert, William delivered an emotional tribute to his father that recognised the King’s environmentalism and his charity work with the Prince’s Trust, in a speech that also touched on his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

I’ll leave you with Louis Chilton to wrap up the coronation concert:

Roisin O’Connor, The Independent’s culture news editor, reviews the King’s coronation concert:

Royal music events are a peculiar beast. Last year’s Platinum Party at the Palace was an eclectic affair, with the lineup – George Ezra, Elton John, Rod Stewart – seemingly pulled at random out of a “royals-friendly” ballot. The coronation concert, which comes a day after King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned at Westminster Abbey, is very much the same.

Of course, there have been plenty of rumours that the reason tonight’s billing at Windsor Castle is a hodgepodge of US pop, classical and dad-rock is because organisers struggled to attract the real mega-stars. Among those said to have turned down the event were Ed Sheeran, Adele, Elton John, Harry Styles and the Spice Girls. Oddly, Sheeran is now filling in for Katy Perry as a judge on American Idol, but his absence is more likely to do with the fact that he’s only just disentangled himself from winning a major plagiarism lawsuit. Others, meanwhile, might have been less keen, given each star is limited to just one song. It’s hard to imagine kicking Adele off the stage after a solitary “Hello”.

So instead we have Olly Murs, who bounds up and down the purpose-built stage like a toddler who’s eaten too many Haribo. Lang Lang, by comparison, is dignified yet passionate as he plays a grand piano medley of film soundtrack classics, including “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. He later introduces Nicole Scherzinger for her debut live performance of “Reflection”, from Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan. It’s a truly mesmerising moment, reminding us that Scherzinger is capable of some incredible vocal gymnastics (even if she is weighed down by some very flashy diamonds).

King Charles shared a dance and a laugh with Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland, in the crowd at the Coronation Concert.

The Baroness occupied a prominent seat as Director of the Commonwealth.

Many on social media were impressed by her dance moves, with one viewer tweeting that the Baroness made “easily the moment of the night” by grooving next to the newly-crowned King.