British Coronation Penny Mordaunt MP in the Spotlight
"Even 2 Painkillers"
A female lawmaker who attracted attention for holding a 3.6 kg ceremonial sword for nearly an hour at the coronation of King Charles III of the United Kingdom credited taking two painkillers beforehand as her secret.
On the 6th (local time), at Westminster Abbey in London, England, during the coronation of King Charles III (far left), Penny Mordaunt, the Lord President of the Council (Conservative Party Chief Whip in the House of Commons, far right), is walking while holding the royal sword symbolizing the monarchy. [Photo by Reuters]
On the 11th (local time), Penny Mordaunt (50), the UK Conservative Party Chief Whip in the House of Commons, recalled the moment during the coronation when she held the 'Sword of State' for 51 minutes in an interview with a BBC podcast. Mordaunt held the sword in her capacity as the Lord President of the Privy Council, a royal advisory body.
Mordaunt said, "I hadn't been to the gym for six months before the coronation," adding, "But I did take two painkillers before the ceremony." She also mentioned, "When I underwent naval training in the past, I learned to wiggle my toes to promote blood circulation, which helped."
The sword she held measured 121 cm in length and weighed 3.6 kg. The Sword of State, decorated with various jewels on a red velvet background, symbolizes the authority and duties of the monarch as the head of the British armed forces. The king receiving it during the coronation signifies acceptance of his duties as monarch.
Traditionally, the delivery of the Sword of State at the British monarch’s coronation is the responsibility of the Lord President of the Privy Council, and Mordaunt made headlines as the first woman to perform this role.
On social media, responses praising her endurance continued. In particular, Labour Party MP Chris Bryant even altered the proverb "The pen is mightier than the sword" to say, "Penny is mightier than the sword."
After the coronation, Mordaunt tweeted, "It was an honor to participate in the coronation," adding, "Compared to the military and police who marched and stood for hours to protect us during the ceremony, what I did was much easier."
Meanwhile, Mordaunt is a foreign affairs and defense expert who served as the UK’s first female Secretary of State for Defence in 2019. A naval reservist, she also competed against current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in last year’s Conservative Party leadership race.
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