Staff at the Government Legal Department worked tirelessly over the past few months to ensure the Coronation ran smoothly, advising on all aspects of the event, from licensing agreements, to occupying land in the Royal Parks, to broadcasting rights.

The team had to think about the legal risks. Did these include sword-carrying in Westminster Abbey? ‘We weren’t asked specifically about the sword,’ senior lawyer and DCMS legal adviser Amanda Shaffu told us.

The London Marathon, scheduled to take place a couple of weeks before the Coronation, ‘created something of a complication’, Bryan Boese, senior lawyer in the commercial law group, revealed. ‘The marathon organisers already agreed that they would occupy some areas [but] it was technically a construction site. We had to resolve issues of who was the main contractor. London Marathon got access to the grandstand.’

While the team couldn’t organise sunny spells on the day, the weather was a concern for the Coronation Concert, held in the grounds of Windsor Castle the next day. Had it rained heavily, the ground might not have been firm enough to put up scaffolding and staging, Boese said.

Fortunately, everything came together in the end. As a thank you for their hard work, the team, including trainee solicitor Lucy Moore, was formally invited to watch the procession from the stands. ‘I joined the team in March, halfway through the process', Moore said. ‘It was a bit surreal as I was only eight months into my training contract. I don’t think a lot of people can say they worked on something that will be remembered in hundreds of years’ time.’

Topics