Julie Bishop has shared what it was really like inside Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King Charles.
The former Australian Foreign Minister joined many international dignitaries in London on Saturday for the royal event, where Bishop managed to snag a second row seat.
Bishop was invited for her role as chair of Prince’s Trust Australia, and was seated beside Lionel Ritchie, who performed at the coronation concert.
The duo snapped a selfie together which quickly went viral, and was condemned by entertainment report Peter Ford.
Ford claimed it was “so inappropriate to be doing selfies inside the Abbey”, to which Bishop defended by saying they took the photo before the ceremony began.
“He (Ritchie) was very much in demand and he reposted my selfie. So that was probably as big a thrill as attending the coronation,” Bishop joked.
She went on to tell 7News that the pair were making comments to each other throughout the service, as they pointed out who else was invited to the coronation.
“During the procession, we’d be whispering to each other… I’d say that’s the Papua New Guineans and he’d tell me who somebody else was.”
“But then as he was singing a hymn, I was very quiet. I didn’t want to have my voice heard. That’s quite an experience in itself having Lionel Ritchie singing hymns next to you.”
Julie said she felt honoured to be invited to the historic ceremony, admitting. “I have never been to anything like this.”
“I felt deeply privileged to be invited and to witness the pageantry and the beauty and the religious and historical significance of this service was deeply moving.”
“When you’re actually there, there was a sense of excitement and anticipation.”
Ms Bishop said she arrived about over two hours before the actual service began, with the service itself being two hours long.
“Everybody was feeling a little bit nervous… (But) everything moved perfectly and there were many moving parts and I had a fabulous spot.”
“I was in the second row, so just one row back from the aisle. so I was able to have a, a pretty unhindered view of all of the famous faces walking by.”
Image credits: Instagram
This article first appeared on Over60.