The largest community of UK citizens in Portugal resides in the Algarve. According to data from the Foreigners and Borders Service, in 2020, they resided in the district of Faro, 23.027 UK citizens, i.e. about half of all Britons living in Portugal.
It is therefore not surprising that, throughout the Algarve, various initiatives are taking place today in bars, restaurants, houses and private spaces to mark the Coronation of King Carlos III, which takes place this Saturday, from 11 am.
O Sul Informação was trying to find out how the British community in the Algarve celebrates this day. As far as it was possible to find out, there will be parties in bars and private houses, picnics, lunches and dinners, as well as entertainment in the English style, such as a quiz, all duly decorated with pennants and other decorations with the colors of the United Kingdom, the face of the new king or his royal coat of arms, among other patriotic motifs.
There were those who had prepared in advance. Yvette Bryant, a resident of Praia de Carvoeiro, told the Sul Informação who bought their flags and decorations «when I visited the UK in April».
In this town on the coast of Lagoa, there are at least two bars where you can watch the coronation ceremony on television, accompanied by typical British food and a pint good but by: Carvoeiro Bar and Harry's Bar.
Sarah Toner, from Harry's Bar, who has had the decorations set up inside and outside the space for a few days now, explained that «we will have a party all day long, with the ceremony being broadcast on all screens from 11:00 am, ending with a quiz on the actual topic. We will also have a buffet lines with some of the favorite English foods».
From 15 pm onwards, after the coronation has ended, the party continues, with the viewing of football matches.
At Carvoeiro Bar, the festivities only start at 8 pm, well after the ceremony is over. But there will even be live music.
In Ferragudo, there are also bars promoting commemorative parties, as well as lunches and picnics organized by groups of British people in local restaurants, whose spaces have long been sold out.
In Alvor, where there is also a strong British community, among residents and frequent visitors, the Jolly Bar, close to the campsite, promotes a «Jolly Coronation». «Join us for breakfast to prepare for the festivities», challenge the Jolly owners. The «historic event» will be followed by television, of course.
Here, too, the festivities do not end when Charles III has been crowned, as there will be a "disco" from 15 pm to 00 pm.
In Olhos d'Água (Albufeira), Pickwicks Tavern and Zé Zé Bistro, both with English owners, will have their televisions turned on to broadcast the ceremony, as well as typical food and drink from that country.
Bar The Galleon, despite being owned by Portuguese people, will also have a program prepared for its UK customers.
But the festivities do not end this Saturday. The Portuguese branch of the Royal British Legion organizes a celebratory lunch for the Coronation of King Carlos III, on the 10th of May, at the Zé do Norte restaurant, located on the edge of the EN125, near Vale Judeu (Loulé).
Anyone who wants can dress in the colors linked to the flag of the United Kingdom: red, white, blue and gold. There will even be a prize for the best coronation outfit.
In the research that Sul Informação did, in search of celebrations of this important day for the British, there were many who manifested themselves «anti royals» (against royalty) or, at least, indifferent to all the pomp and circumstance that involves the coronation.
David Bodsworth is one of the expats ((English residents outside their country never classify themselves as immigrants, but as “expats”, that is, expatriates) who will not mark this day. «I know I do not speak for all expatriates, but we have changed We're moving here from the UK so I don't really care about that and I have no intention of celebrating."
In a survey carried out in the UK for the company YouGov, 64% of respondents said they had little or no interest in the coronation, while only 9% said they gave it a lot of importance.
What will the coronation ceremony be like?
Ancestral practices, symbolic objects and exquisite jewelry will stand out during the coronation of King Carlos III, this Saturday, but the ceremony has been modernized and simplified to reflect a new socio-political and economic context.
The coronation procession of Charles III to Westminster Abbey will be shorter than the route taken by Elizabeth II in 1953, in a modern and comfortable carriage, and the religious ceremony will also be shorter and more sober.
The two kilometer route will fall short of the eight kilometers that the mother covered in 1953, together with her father, Prince Filipe, lengthened so that more people could see it.
At the time, it is estimated that three million people filled the streets of London to cheer the 27-year-old queen, who circulated for two hours in the emblematic Golden Carriage.
Last year, the monarch's funeral procession reportedly drew only around 250.000 people, a sign of waning popular enthusiasm for the royal family.
The coronation ceremony of Isabel II, on June 02, 1953, lasted almost three hours and had more than 8.000 guests, representatives of 129 countries and territories.
This time, the celebration will last two hours and the audience at the Abbey will be limited to around 2.000 people.
The contingent of 6.000 soldiers involved in the processions and celebrations will also be substantially less than the 45.000 who participated 70 years ago.
The reduction in size shows sensitivity to “the difficult times [of the crisis] in the cost of living”, said Camilla Tominey, deputy editor of the Daily Telegraph newspaper and connoisseur of the royal family.
London, he added, is now a “more diverse capital”, in a country that has also changed not only socially, but also economically, geopolitically, militarily and religiously.
To reflect this multiculturalism, inside Westminster Abbey there will be, among dignitaries and royalty, hundreds of ordinary citizens, selected for their contributions to society.
In a bench erected for the occasion in front of Buckingham Palace, there will be 3.800 military veterans and health and social support professionals.
The musical program selected for Charles III's ceremony also shows an attempt to innovate, combining classical pieces with themes created at the request of the monarch by composers known for their work in film, television and musical theatre, such as Debbie Wiseman and Andrew Lloyd-Webber.
The coronation ceremony itself is expected to maintain established protocol, reinforcing the tradition, history and mystique of the British royal family.
Carlos III will take the obligatory oath, will be anointed with a perfumed oil, produced and consecrated in Jerusalem – and which this time dispensed with elements of animal origin to be 'vegan'.
At the ceremony, however, the crown jewels still shine, including a solid gold crown decorated with more than 400 precious stones, including rubies, garnets and sapphires, which weighs more than two kilos.
Tominey stressed that there was an effort to balance the modern and the traditional, but recalls that, in 1953, Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were a young couple in a “romantic post-war era”.
In another break with the past, the King and Queen Consort will leave Buckingham Palace in an aluminum carriage with hydraulic suspension, more comfortable for two septuagenarians.
Despite being horse-drawn, the vehicle has heating and air conditioning, electric windows and a hydraulic suspension system.
"I don't think it's a secret that they both have back problems and sometimes take pillows to events," said the British journalist.
The return will be made in a 260-year-old wooden carriage, used in all coronations since 1831, and which is known to be quite rigid and uncomfortable.
Elizabeth II described the Golden State Carriage as "awful", Queen Victoria complained of the "worrying wobble".
William IV, known as the “King Sailor”, said it was like “being on board a tossed ship in a rough sea”.
At four tons, it is so heavy that it can only move at walking pace. This will give people along the route more time to see the newly crowned king and queen.
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