Watch the moment the second anniversary of King Charles’s coronation is marked with a 41-gun salute.The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery are seen firing the salutes in Hyde Park.While the basic salute is 21 rounds, the event taking place at a Royal Park means an extra 20 rounds are added.Gun salutes take place to mark events like state visits and Remembrance Sunday.
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00:00Oh
00:30well it is a spectacular sight and sound there in hyde park as those guns continue to fire to
00:45ring in this coronation anniversary um dr craig prescott what is the origin of uh guns being
00:54fired in a ceremonial way like this so the origin stem from the 15th 16th century when ships would
01:01visit um foreign ports and they would effectively empty their their guns as they sailed into port as
01:09a show of friendship to show they come in peace so that these guns couldn't be fired again yes
01:14absolutely and um english ships would traditionally have seven guns and the responding port would fire
01:22free in response that's why you get to 21 because the responding port would fire 21 guns
01:28and that became the standard um for a gun salute 21 which has been copied around the world ever since
01:36in america the presidential salute is 21 guns um so you know this is copious this is one of those
01:42practices that other countries have followed as time has gone on so will the same happen every
01:47anniversary of the correlation yes this is one of those um occasions when we have a gun salute there
01:54are several around uh throughout the year um we'll see this at trooping the color yes we'll see this at
02:01the queen's official uh the queen's birthday um the king's birthday which is in uh november um we'll see
02:09this on accession day as well in september so there are occasions throughout the year when this is what
02:15happens effectively now of course we're seeing this in hyde park at the moment in these uh wonderful
02:21traditional uniforms with these uh with these barrels of the guns on those on those wheels there
02:26but we are also going to see another a further salute later on in the day um at at the tower of
02:33london yes absolutely as as is custom that there's two of these take place uh one in a royal park and
02:39the other in the tower of london which reflects the unique position of the city of london and it's a
02:46show of respect from the city of london to the monarch um and there's an extra 20 guns when it's the
02:53tower of london for the city of london so that's why it's a 61 gun salute at the tower of london at one
03:00o'clock and only 41 here from hyde park and of course this week we've all been well we're celebrating
03:07on this channel across the country of course the 80th anniversary of victory in europe day um i spoke
03:14some military celebrations in london particularly uh of note considering all of that context yes it's
03:20timed um very very nicely this year because it it it's formed part of that sort of military ceremonial
03:27which were which we're having this week um follows on nicely from the um the day parade and fly past
03:35um down the mile and over buckingham palace yesterday so you know it forms part of this week
03:40of of celebrations and and reflects the uh close links between the monarchy and the armed forces
03:46it is one of those things that sort of you you blink and it could be in a period drama you know this
03:53has sort of been the same for centuries um how important is that when we're when we're thinking
03:59of the world and the turbulent nature of the world as we know it today having sort of mainstays and
04:07traditions and ceremonies like this that our parents generation our grandparents our great parents
04:13our great great grandparents would all recognize as the same yes absolutely this is part of that
04:19point of the monarchy being a point of stability a point of common reference um in an ever-changing
04:27world and you know i think one thing that that's been really interesting is how that has carried on
04:32in in this new reign for for most of us elizabeth ii was the only monarch we ever knew and we didn't
04:39quite sort of perhaps know or sort of anticipate just what it would be like with another monarch
04:46and the answer is pretty similar you know that a lot of these traditions just carry on um regardless
04:53and and sort of shows the monarchy as that point of stability you know particular times political
04:59turmoil um points of disjuncture and and uh and you saw that yesterday with the ve day celebrations
05:07it's sort of the king and queen were recreating what uh the king's grandfather did in 1945 with a balcony
05:14appearance and so that's you know that's what the monarchy is for really to be that point of stability and of course marking the anniversary of the coronation of the coronation of the
05:21a moment to reflect on how king charles is doing yes well i think this has been one of the uh you know again it goes back to the point how would a new monarch be different to elizabeth ii which we've all grown up with and in many ways many things have stayed the same but i think we've seen a more uh active monarch i think you know one i think the new dimension that's really come is in the international
05:39visits and the state visits which because of the queen's age and because of covid had sort of disappeared for eight years or so and i think we've seen that the king is particularly good at state visits uh the visits to germany and and france and italy more recently have been a
05:57success um he's very good at delivering a speech and i think that's something where he you know has perhaps distinguished himself from the queen where he's you know there's more memorable content in the speeches perhaps a little bit wittier he's spoken in german and french and he
06:27Italian on the state visits. I don't think it's any coincidence that Keir Starmer has
06:34sought to use the King as part of that package of trying to deal with President Trump. Because
06:40he's taken advantage, I think, of something that the King has shown to him to be particularly
06:46good at, I think, in terms of state visits. And that is a sort of unique element of diplomacy
06:53that this country can offer, that sort of sprinkling of royal magic over any sort of mundane political
07:01visits. And in that way, Keir Starmer, in the Oval Office, handing a letter from the King
07:08to Donald Trump, much more exciting than a letter from the Foreign Office or the Ambassador.
07:13Oh, absolutely. It was done with a theatrical flourish of the sort that I think President
07:20Trump quite likes. And, you know, Trump seems to have an affinity with the monarchy, which
07:25is, you know, which perhaps is useful to the UK, you know, given his links with the country.
07:36We've got a band playing. We have the music that's struck up and the royal horse artillery
07:40seem to be galloping or at least cantering through the bar. Yes, they may well be leaving.
07:46I've lost track of the number of guns that have been fired. I think the guns are...
07:50I think we have had our 21 guns. So now we have a procession that's spewed.
07:58And we can hear strings in the background there, really summing up the sense of occasion and
08:15the sense of majesty in a way. Because again, this is the sort of sight that you would have
08:23been able to watch in almost precisely the same way hundreds of years ago. It actually
08:29is quite striking. Looking at Hyde Park there, you can't see any sort of, you know, modern
08:34electrical lights. You can't see any cars in the background. I mean, this is really as it
08:40would have looked for century after century. Yes. And, you know, the Royal Horse artillery
08:46was set up by George VI, you know, charged with to have a mounted battery to fire salutes
08:53on state occasions dressed in the traditional style. You know, this is very deliberately set
08:59up to, you know, bring back those memories and to follow that tradition of centuries, as
09:05you say.
09:06No, it is so interesting to see the pomp, the pageantry, the splendour, again what this
09:13country does perhaps better than any other country. And linking it all in to the displays,
09:21the marching that we saw yesterday, and the celebrations still to come throughout this week,
09:27not just for the coronation, but of course for Victory in Europe Day as well, which is fast
09:32approaching, it really does turn into a week of celebration.
09:37Yes, it does. And, you know, this is something that, you know, the UK does. But as you said,
09:44it's also the particularly extensive way in which the UK does this, that, you know, we have
09:48these occasions, sort of, which, you know, if you grow up in this country, you sort of might
09:53see on the news for five minutes and then not think much more about. But, you know, it's
09:58part of that background of, you know, what the UK is, what the state is.