Penny Lancaster speaks of her pride at being part of the Coronation policing operation as the former model says she is ‘tremendously proud and honoured’ to have been part of the historic celebration
- Ex-model and special constable Penny Lancaster part of Coronation police op
Penny Lancaster has spoken of her pride at being part of the policing operation during the Coronation on Saturday.
She was on duty in Whitehall watching the crowd as the King and Queen passed by.
The former model, who is married to Sir Rod Stewart, is a special constable in the police and said she was ‘tremendously proud and honoured’ to have been part of it.
Ms Lancaster, 52, began volunteering with the City of London Police after she took part in a Channel 4 programme called Famous and Fighting Crime, in which famous faces tried their hand at becoming volunteer police officers.
In April 2021, after completing her training, the TV presenter became a special constable.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain about working at the Coronation, with her shift running between 6am and about 4pm.
Coronation day: Penny Lancaster, 52, in uniform as a City of London Police special constable
Penny Lancaster (bottom left in front of two grenadier guards) was on duty in Whitehall watching the crowd as the King and Queen passed by
The star said: ‘It was the most fabulous day and of course, tremendously proud and honoured to have been given that opportunity, along with the City of London Police, that I’m a special constable for.
‘There were the regular officers and then the specials [on duty] and, of course, we volunteer our time to help with the duties of policing, and we were stationed on Whitehall, right opposite 10 Downing Street, just behind New Scotland Yard.’
This comes after last September when she helped police the Queen’s funeral procession.
About 11,500 police were on duty in London on Saturday.
Ms Lancaster added: ‘We got to know the members of the public that were in front of us quite well. And there were people travelling from Miami and Scotland and Wales and all over.
‘And it was just incredible to see the different generations there were, you know, grandparents with their little chairs out, and there were little toddlers on dads’ shoulders, and everyone [with] painted faces and waving flags.’
Ms Lancaster (circled red), wife of singer Rod Stewart is seen working as a police officer as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth leaves RAF Northolt during her funeral procession last September
She said: ‘So we got to chat and engage with the public and, of course, our priority was to make sure that the ceremony and the passing of the carriages, the procession went smoothly without being interrupted.’
The Loose Women panellist added that she worked closely with officers of the Met who had armour, batons and handcuffs, but that she and her colleagues were in ‘very smart tunics’.
She said: ‘Our main message to us was to be smart and look smart, and to be alert and just to inform our inspectors and those officers in the crowd if we saw anything suspicious but luckily it was a fantastic atmosphere…’ Lancaster said if someone has tried to come over the barrier she ‘would have most certainly intervened’.
She added she was ‘really, really proud of our royal family and the connection that they have around the world’.
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