'An Unexpected Guest' - a poem to mark the Coronation

Guest arriving at Westminster Abbey

An Unexpected Guest

(featuring Samuel Pepys)

She's treated herself to new shoes, a window seat

on the fast train, a hotel for a night.

She's been to the capital twice before,

once to see Tutankhamun when she was nine

and once when it rained.  Crossing The Mall

she’s just a person like everyone else

but her hand keeps checking the invitation,

her thumb strumming the gilded edge of the card,

her finger tracing the thread of embossed leaves.

In sight of the great porch she can’t believe

the police just step aside, that doors shaped

for God and giants should open to let her in.

*

She's taken her place with ambulance drivers

and nurses and carers and charity workers,

a man who alchemised hand-sanitiser

from gin, a woman who walked for sponsored miles,

the boy in the tent. The heads of heads of state

float down the aisle, she knows the names

of seven or eight. But the music's the thing:

a choir transmuting psalms into sonorous light,

the cavernous sleepwalking dreams

of the organ making the air vibrate,

chords coming up through the soles of her feet.

Somewhere further along and deeper in

there are golden and sacred things going on:

glimpses of crimson, flashes of jewels

like flames, high priests in their best bling,

the solemn wording of incantations and spells,

till the part where promise and prayer become fused:

the moment is struck, a pact is sworn.

*

And got to the abby…raised in the middle…

Bishops in cloth-of-gold Copes…

nobility all in their parliament-robes…

The Crowne being put on his head

a great shout begun.  And he came forth...

taking the oath… And Bishops…kneeled

…and proclaimed…if any could show

any reason why Ch. …should not be the King…

that now he should come and speak…

The ground covered with blue cloth…

And the King came in with his Crowne…

and mond…and his sceptre in hand…

*

She’ll watch it again on the ten o’clock news

from the armchair throne in her living room:

did the cameras notice her coral pink hat

or her best coat pinned with the hero's medal she got

for being herself?  The invitation is propped

on the mantelpiece by the carriage-clock.

She adorned the day with ordinariness;

she is blessed to have brought the extraordinary home.

And now she'll remember the house sparrow

she thought she’d seen in the abbey roof

arcing from eave to eave, beyond and above.

 

Simon Armitage

 

 

Related content

The King's message to Australian Veterans of the Second World War on Anzac Day 2025

The following message was sent to mark the 80th Anniversary year of the War’s end.

24 April 2025

The King's message to New Zealand Veterans of the Second World War on Anzac Day 2025

The following message was sent to mark the 80th Anniversary year of the War’s end.

24 April 2025

The King's message following the death of Pope Francis

His Holiness will be remembered for his compassion, his concern for the unity of the Church and for his tireless commitment to the common causes of all people of faith.

21 April 2025
News

Royal Maundy 2025

17 April 2025
The King and Queen at the Maundy Service in Durham

A message from The King to mark Easter

There are three virtues that the world still needs — faith, hope and love. “And the greatest of these is love”.

17 April 2025

The King’s speech at the State Banquet at the Quirinale Palace, Italy

It is also moving to think that my great, great grandfather, King Edward VII, and my great-grandfather, King George V, both spoke at State Banquets in this very Palace over a...

09 April 2025

The King delivers an address to the Italian Parliament

It has been one of the pleasures of my life to come to know this irresistible country, and from Turin to Palermo, Verona to Naples, Florence to Trieste, I have learned a...

09 April 2025

The King's message to the regional media industry in the UK

Your reporting, and the work of all those who support you, helps amplify and reaffirm the rights and responsibilities we all share.

27 March 2025

The Duchess of Edinburgh's speech on Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

I implore you now, on behalf of the children of today and tomorrow, to redouble your efforts in prioritising their safety

27 March 2025

A speech by Her Majesty The Queen at a Reception to mark the launch of The Queen’s Reading Room Medal

Making life better is the ultimate aim of my Reading Room. We believe that books make for a happier, healthier and more connected society.

26 March 2025

A speech by Her Majesty The Queen at a Reception to celebrate the 15th anniversary of WOW (Women of the World)

Without fail, wherever WOW gathers, I have met the most extraordinary and impressive women who have, quite simply, refused to take ‘no’ for an answer.

11 March 2025
News

Commonwealth Day 2025

10 March 2025
Commonwealth flags

A speech delivered by The King during a visit to HMS Prince of Wales whilst at sea

I can only say that I take immense pride in you - the men and women who bring this vessel to life with such indomitable spirit - for your vital service on behalf of us all.

04 March 2025

The King's Commonwealth Day Message 2025

The Commonwealth’s ability to bring together people from all over the world has stood the test of time and remains as ever-important today.

09 March 2025
News

The King visits Staffordshire

24 February 2025
The King visits Tower Brewery