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British cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt was reborn as the stylish “lady with the sword” as the coronation of King Charles III gave her a starring role.
Ms Mordaunt, 50, won admirers worldwide for her able handling of not one but two ceremonial swords.
She said that in comparison to police and military personnel who were “marching or standing for hours as part of the ceremony … my job was rather easier”.
The first woman to be coronation sword-bearer, she wore a custom-made teal dress for the occasion with a matching cape and headband and gold feather embroidery.
She took on the role in her position as Lord President of the Council — a historic office that comes with a seat at the cabinet table but few policy responsibilities.
When reappointed to the role by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last year she had to insist it was “not a disappointment” to miss out on a promotion she had been tipped for.
But the position has come into its own during the royal events surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the start of King Charles’s reign.
Foreign viewers who had never heard of Ms Mordaunt asked eagerly who the “lady with the sword” was as the coronation played out on TV screens worldwide.
In Britain, where Ms Mordaunt made two failed bids to be prime minister last year, there was praise from across party politics as spectators called Ms Mordaunt the “breakout star”.
“The sword bearer steals the show,” said opposition Labour Party MP Emily Thornberry.
Conservative MP Caroline Nokes remarked that her colleague must have “triceps of steel” and said she was “just not sure how Penny Mordaunt could have done this any better”.
Acknowledging the praise, Ms Mordaunt said she was “honoured to be part of the coronation with thousands of others who played their part”.
Ms Mordaunt separately told Times Radio that she had practised with weighted replicas of the swords and done some press-ups to prepare for the role.
She said her service as a naval reservist, which she heavily traded on during her failed leadership bid last summer, gave her experience in “standing for long periods of time not fainting”.
The ceremony involved first carrying the Sword of State, a steel blade dating back to the reign of the last King Charles in the 17th century, then exchanging it for the jewelled Sword of Offering.
The second sword, which was made in 1820 and is set with jewels forming a rose, thistle, shamrock and lion’s heads, was briefly clipped to the king’s ceremonial belt before being returned to Ms Mordaunt.
The Lord President is head of the centuries-old Privy Council, historically an important advisory body to the monarch which today has mainly procedural and ceremonial functions.
Ms Mordaunt, a former magician’s assistant and contestant on a TV diving show, was appointed Lord President and Leader of the House of Commons last September after missing out in a leadership race to Liz Truss.
Two days after her appointment, Queen Elizabeth II died and Ms Mordaunt was involved in the meeting of the Accession Council that proclaimed the new king’s reign.
When Ms Truss’s premiership imploded in 44 days, Ms Mordaunt again ran for the leadership but was outmanoeuvred by Mr Sunak, who opted to keep her as Lord President.
Asked in the House of Commons if it “may not have been the job she was hoping for”, Ms Mordaunt replied that it was “not a disappointment to find myself here”.
