Thousands of royal revellers were nearly left devastated after a technical glitch threatened to derail the screening of the coronation at Sandringham.
A crowd of more than 3,000 had descended on the Sandringham estate’s free event to watch the coronation of King Charles III on the big screen close to the royal family’s Norfolk country estate.
But at 9.45am there was still no sign of the screen and bad news soon followed.
Garry Marsden, Sandringham Visitor Experience Manager, announced: “We can’t guarantee we’re going to get this fixed in time.
“I would say if you can go home, you should.”
The relaxed and fun atmosphere was punctured with groans and a stream of departures.
Marsden, 56, said the rig was weather-proof and had been successfully used for the jubilee screening of Queen Elizabeth II last summer.
Lisa Flude, 56, an Alternative Therapist from Halifax, had travelled from West Yorkshire on her own and rented a caravan for the weekend in the seaside resort of Cromer, over an hour’s drive from the estate.
She said: “It’s too late to go back. I’m so cross.”
Flude was wearing the same bowler hat she’d worn to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in Windsor.
She added: “I love the royals, it’s part of our heritage.”
Soon after the sound of a motor whirring into life drew cheers from the crowd, then the screen emerged form the back of a truck.
As the screen went up, Flude said: “The man from del Monte says yeah!”
Julie Knibbs, 54, an assistant head teacher from Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire spent two hours a day for the last two weeks making homemade crowns from wool and charity shop jewellery.
She left home at 7 am with husband Ian Knibbs, 55, a Royal Society of Chemistry fundraiser.
He said: “The royal family are the gravity point on which our democracy turns.”
Featured image: Ed Spencer
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As someone who has worked with screens like this I can tell you they are incredibly technical. Any tiny malfunction can jeopardize thie event. Well done to the tech / driver for getting it running. Not enough respect given for the knowledge of the drivers / operators of these equipment. Often people shouting adds to the pressure, the techs need space to think to work out the issues.