Mike Hosking on his exclusive view of coronation inside Westminster Abbey - A moment in history that lives forever

OPINION

It’s hard to know where to start.

But I had no shortage of time to work it out given I was seated in Westminster Abbey by 7.30am.

I wondered how badly time would drag given it didn’t start until 11am.

By 9am, the choir and orchestra began to play, and that was your first treat of the day. The sound in the Abbey is astonishing.

I was seated with members of the House of Lords and various judges who were wearing their wigs, which made me wonder whether that was the reason the King chose May for the coronation.

Because despite the weather, which started out mild and fine but turned to a bit of rain, the Abbey is warm and I am assuming by mid-June it could well be hot. There was a lot of heavy cloaking, and that’s before we get to the crowns.

King Charles III kneels during the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London.

The odd thing about the Abbey is for most people you can’t actually see a thing. Between the walls and pillars and various religious paraphernalia, it’s really a collection of nooks and crannies.

I was lucky. I was seated directly next to where some of history’s greatest names are buried - Newton, Darwin, Dickens, Chaucer.

My eyeline met the Royal Family on the other side. At its closest point the King and Queen were no more than 30 metres from me.

Those like UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who had major parts walked directly in front of me (he is even smaller than you thought).

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Ashkata Murthy. Photo / AP

In a sense it seemed unfair, as I wandered off to the toilet after about three hours of waiting inside. I walked past the good and the great who had seats at the entrance to the Abbey. I couldn’t believe how close our little media group were and how small a contingent it was - just 27 of us.

For those further back, once they’d watched the heavyweight arrivals walk past them, that would be the end of being able to see anything. That is until it was all over and those same people walked out.

That was the overarching mood of the day. Everyone knew viewing in some way, shape or form would be restricted. But it was the “being there” that counted.

You were a witness to history, and unlike so many events these days this one was rare.

Mike Hosking in his Savile Row suit on his way to the King's Coronation at Westminster Abbey. Photo / Supplied

Virtually no one would have seen or been at the last one, so it had a character of uniqueness to it.

We all felt privileged.

There were so many famous people, spotting them ran the risk of being boring.

There was a buzz when Prince Harry arrived. I thought he looked sort of lost. He was with other family but in that ‘we put him with the cousins’ sort of way. His seat was not as bad as some media had suggested, but even he spent a decent chunk of the ceremony looking at the screen given the viewing restrictions, not to mention Princess Anne’s hat in front of him.

Britain's Prince Harry, centre, arrives at Westminster Abbey for the coronation ceremony of Britain's King Charles III, in London, Saturday. Photo / AP

Prince William is tall, way taller than the rest of them. If I were to pick a highlight, his oath on bended knee in front of his father was very touching.

I am probably being unfair, but musically the Ascension Choir brought not just diversity but an amazing life to the Abbey.

TV hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly, who are known in New Zealand but amazingly popular in Britain, got a cheer and a lot of clapping when they arrived. They won the prize for the biggest reaction, although the Royal Family received applause as they left.

We had seen Dec in Savile Row earlier in the week. He was going