Royal officers are already on watch ahead of the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday — though not all were cut out for the marathon event.
Incidents of fainting men in uniform were shared Friday on social media. One video posted by the official TikTok account for The King’s Guards shows a member of their ranks, who fainted during an all-night rehearsal, being carried through the streets on a stretcher.
“It happens, I dare say he has been standing for hours,” one online viewer commented on the post.
Someone else chimed in with a helpful tip for others in waiting: “You have to wiggle your toes to get the blood flowing through the body.”
Another clip shows yet another guardsman being lifted in a stretcher to be escorted out of the packed crowd of royal watchers.
As first responders hoist the gurney, you can hear the British crowd say a collective “oop” as the soldier’s face hits the rear end of one of the medics as they hoist him up.
Meanwhile, court jesters online giddily noted the humiliating moment, comparing the patient’s face to a credit card being swiped through a butt-cheek terminal.
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- A timeline of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla’s complicated relationship
“Suddenly everything I’ve ever said and done isn’t so embarrassing anymore,” one gawker revealed on TikTok, as another declared that they “would have been instantly revived” by the nosy nudge.
“The old Windsor kiss,” another quipped.
In practice for the main event, the dress-rehearsal procession spanned eastward from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square down The Mall, then took Downing Street around St. James Park until ultimately reaching Westminster Abbey.
The official coronation of Charles III will take place at Westminster Abbey on May 6, with an estimated 2,000 guests in attendance. The day begins at about 9 a.m. locally with Charles and Queen Consort Camilla lining up to take their parade coach to Westminster Abbey, where the ceremony begins at 11 a.m. GMT.
Fans in the US can tune in live and online for the two-hour televised event, beginning at 6 a.m. EST, followed by the coronation concert featuring Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and many other musical guests.