Penny Mordaunt shared she received a letter from a member of the Royal Family joking that she stole the show from King Charles and Queen Charles during the coronation.
Dame Penny was tasked with holding the Sword of State during the 2023 Westminster Abbey ceremony, as part of her role as Lord President of the Privy Council.
Her popularity shot up on social media for her strength in carrying the sword while appearing incredibly composed.
Discussing the moment at the Oxford Literary Festival, Dame Penny said: “I was clearly the lightning rod on the day for attention. Very embarrassing.
Penny Mordaunt, King Charles | Source: PA
“I had thousands of letters sent to me after that event – actually, more letters than I got votes at any election.”
Recounting one letter during a speech heard by The Telegraph, she explained: “One letter in particular was very embarrassing.
“It was from a member of the Royal family, and it started: ‘How kind of the King and Queen to come to your event’.
Dame Penny went on to share the impact of the coronation, believing that the King gave her a key role because she was a woman and the first female Lord President.
Penny Mordaunt, King Charles | Source: PA
She said: “The King clearly wanted [the coronation] to feel relevant to today. And he thought about whom he wanted to carry his regalia. He wanted the whole of Britain represented… there were people from the military, the charity sector, people who devoted their lives to service,
“And I have to say, I was Lord President at the time and I’m not sure necessarily that, if I was a bloke, whether the whole of the Lord President role would have been kept in.
“But I was obviously the first woman to do that, so they kept the whole role in.”
Dame Penny added that the “coronation did change my life, not just UK-wise but globally as well”.
Penny Mordaunt, King Charles | Source: PA
She added: “It’s nice. Normally, if you’re a politician, the first thing people say to you is that there aren’t enough dog poo bins or whatever issue they want to raise with you.
“[Now] usually the first thing they mention is the coronation.”
The coronation on May 6, 2023, was viewed by an average of 18.8 million people across the UK, reaching a peak of around 20.4 million.
It is estimated that 400 million people watched the coronation globally.
King Charles | Source: PA
King Charles became the oldest British monarch to be crowned at the age of 74.
When the proclamation was completed, Dame Penny said she “could hear over the Palace wall thousands cheering for the King, and I just knew it was going to be all right”.
The former Conservative MP was tipped to be the next Tory leader following her role in the coronation, but lost her Portsmouth North seat to Labour at the general election.
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