Penny Mordaunt Reveals It Wasn't Only Press-Ups Which Helped Her Prepare For The Coronation

The Conservative MP had a major role carrying a sword at King Charles III's coronation.
Lord President of the Council, Penny Mordaunt, holding the Sword of State walking ahead of King Charles III during the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on May 6, 2023.
Lord President of the Council, Penny Mordaunt, holding the Sword of State walking ahead of King Charles III during the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on May 6, 2023.
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Penny Mordaunt has just lifted the lid on how she really prepared for carrying a 3.6kg sword for King Charles IIII’s coronation.

The Conservative MP had a central role during the royal ceremony, as the Lord President of the Privy Council (made up of the UK’s most senior politicians who advise the King).

Mordaunt made headlines for her impressive performance carrying a 17th Century Sword of State into Westminster Abbey, which is the heaviest in the royal collection, weighing 3.6kg and stretching to 1.2 metres in length.

She had to carry it at a right angle to her body, and told Times Radio she had been “doing some press-ups to train” and practising with “some replicas which are weighted the same”.

However, when pressed about the details of this training, she told Nick Robinson’s Political Thinking podcast on the BBC: “I was not in the gym for six months prior to this.”

But, she added: “You want to make sure you are in good nick.

“I did take a couple of painkillers before just to make sure I was going to be alright.”

"You want to make sure you're in good nick"

Penny Mordaunt tells @BBCNickRobinson about her sword carrying exploits at the Coronation#BBCPoliticalThinking https://t.co/XSWFC39TF6 pic.twitter.com/GtTTeYtxFe

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) May 11, 2023

She said that her Navy training in Portsmouth helped too, as she knew how “wriggling your toes” helps keep circulation going.

She said the secret came down to “practise”, having a “good breakfast” and wearing “comfortable shoes”.
Luckily, Mordaunt only had to carry the heavy sword for the start of the ceremony.
She later swapped it out for the Jewelled Sword of Offering – making her the first woman to carry and present the object to a monarch during a British coronation – which she had to carry before the King for the rest of the service.
It’s not clear how much this sword weighs, but it is known for being smaller and lighter than the Sword of State.
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