Coronation community | thearticle

Tomorrow the eyes of the world will be on the London for the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla. Our country is famed for our pageantry and ceremony and the events of the weekend

will place us in the global spotlight. Over a hundred Heads of State — presidents, prime ministers and monarchs — will descend on the capital for the once-in-a-generation event. But whilst

the spectacle on the Saturday will show the UK at its best, with our flair for pomp and pageantry, the Coronation celebrations have an even more important dimension. They will shape the sort

of country we live in. The Coronation weekend also features two major national projects which encourage communities to roll up their sleeves and engage with people in their localities. We

are encouraged to be active citizens rather than passive subjects. On Sunday, the Big Coronation Lunch will see people hold street parties and gatherings. For the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

last year, an incredible 17.2 million people took part in such events. On Monday, the Big Help Out will encourage the country to engage in volunteering and acts of kindness, to reflect the

King’s lifetime of service. The Coronation is an opportunity to strengthen the bonds of community. People often say of London and our big cities that they are too big and impersonal, lacking

community spirit. I don’t see it like that: metropolitan Britain, in all its diverse glory, contains a tapestry of outstanding faith and ethnic communities. But one can’t deny that in some

respects social solidarity and cohesion have declined over recent years. The number of people who trust their neighbours is in decline, surveys show. One in twenty adults has never even

spoken to their neighbours. The number of people volunteering is also decreasing, as shown by the NCVO’s report Time Well Spent released this week. Those volunteering every month have fallen

from 44% to 34% of the population — though this is still a relatively high proportion compared to most countries. Building community is really important: it leads to an increase in trust,

cohesion and stability. This is what the Harvard academic Robert Putnam called “social capital”. Much of what the King and the rest of the Royal Family is about is social capital: supporting

charities and thereby building up the third sector. Seventy years ago, there were big community celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation in 1953. Back then a total of 17 million people

took part in coronation parties, fetes and gatherings (despite the rain on the day), an impressive proportion of Britain’s then population of 50 million. The social scientist Michael Young,

who later founded the Open University, carried out research, based on a survey of street parties in the East End of London. He famously described the event as a “great act of national

communion.” Just as the country was still recovering from the Second World War and its hardships, today’s celebrations take place against the backdrop of acute challenges. The pandemic and

the cost of living crisis have made life especially tough for many people, while war has returned to Europe. So the coming Coronation Weekend is not just an excuse to party, but a reason to

do something good in your area. The crowns and carriages will grab the headlines, but there is also a subtler and no less important opportunity to build stronger, more cohesive and resilient

communities. _Zaki Cooper previously worked in the Royal Household and is Co-Founder of Integra which is working on the Big Help Out._