The job they started training for decades ago: How Penny Mordaunt and Katherine Grainger used their Royal Navy and Olympic rowing skills for sword-carrying duties at King Charles’ coronation… and became the unexpected stars of the show

• Dame Katherine Grainger presented King Charles with the 7.5kg Elizabeth Sword
• The sword, named after the late Queen Elizabeth, cost £22,000 to make 
• Penny Mordaunt was lauded for holding Sword of State for 51 minutes on May 6

Dame Katherine Grainger said it was a ‘real pinch yourself’ moment to present a specially-made 7.5kg sword to King Charles at a ceremony in Scotland to mark his Coronation.

The Olympic rower has been lauded for her role in yesterday’s service after she deftly carried the new Elizabeth Sword which weighed more than double that of the 3.6kg sword that Penny Mordaunt held aloft during the King’s Coronation on May 6.

Both Ms Mordaunt, 50, and Dame Katherine, 47, revealed afterwards that they drew on their experience in the Royal Navy and the Olympics respectively as they became the unexpected stars of King Charles’ coronations.

The Leader of the House of Commons explained how she took painkillers and wiggled her toes to help her hold the Sword of State for 51 minutes as millions around the globe tuned in for King Charles’ historic day. 

On Wednesday, it was Dame Katherine who was tasked with wielding the Elizabeth Sword which was made specifically made to replace the original 16th century Scottish Sword of State, which has become too fragile. She noted afterwards that she had two decades of rowing training behind her which helped her ace the ceremony.

The sword, named after the late Queen Elizabeth, weighs 7.5kg and is also ten inches longer than the English Sword of State which Ms Mordaunt carried.

Two months after Penny Mordaunt presented King Charles with the Sword of State at Westminster Abbey (left), Dame Katherine Grainger was responsible for carrying the Elizabeth Sword at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh yesterday (right)

Penny Mordaunt (left after being made honorary captain) and Katherine Grainger (right after Olympic gold in 2012) used their Royal Navy and Olympic rowing skills for their sword-carrying duties 

The Elizabeth Sword weighs 16.5lb (7.5kg) and is also ten inches longer than the English Sword of State  

It cost £22,000 to make and was designed by former Ormond Pursuivant of Arms Mark Dennis (above), 73, of St Andrews 

It cost £22,000 to make and was designed by former Ormond Pursuivant of Arms Mark Dennis, 73, of St Andrews.

‘There’s a Boadicea fashion with these strapping women carrying large swords,’ Mr Dennis joked.

Ms Mordaunt, who won plaudits as the first woman in history to carry the Sword of State at a Coronation in May, wished Dame Katherine luck before the service of thanksgiving and dedication held in the King’s honour.

READ MORE: Penny Mordaunt reveals she took painkillers to help her endure role of carrying ceremonial swords during King’s coronation – and explains how her navy training came in handy

‘Best wishes to Olympian Dame Katherine Grainger (Chancellor of University of Glasgow) who is carrying the magnificent new Elizabeth sword at St Giles’ Cathedral tomorrow. 

‘The first person to have the honour of this role. Now she really does have arms of steel!’

Interestingly, both Ms Mordaunt and Dame Katherine admitted to using their training in the Navy and the Olympics to assist them with their crucial roles. Ms Mordaunt said she had even taken ‘a couple of painkillers’, while Dame Katherine said her Olympic training played a key role.

‘I didn’t really have much time to train for this but I had 20 years of training to fall back on,’ the Olympian explained afterwards. ‘It does weigh a lot but it’s actually very well-balanced.’

Both Ms Mordaunt and Dame Katherine will go down in royal history as the sword-wielding stars of King Charles’ coronations.

Dressed in a teal blue dress with gold detail and a matching cape, Ms Mordaunt carried the 17th-century Sword of State into Westminster Abbey before presenting it to the King in his throne.

In a similarly elegant blue dress, coat and hat, Dame Katherine presented the heavy sword to the King – who also received the sceptre and crown from the Honours of Scotland – the Scottish crown jewels.

King Charles III was presented with the Elizabeth Sword by Dame Katherine Grainger yesterday

Both Ms Mordaunt and Dame Katherine will go down in royal history as the sword-wielding stars of King Charles’ coronations

Dame Katherine Grainger carries the Elizabeth Sword, named after the late Queen Elizabeth, into St Giles’ Cathedral

The Olympic rower has been lauded for her role in yesterday’s service after she deftly carried the new Elizabeth Sword

Katherine Grainger (right) and Anna Watkins of Great Britain celebrate with their gold medals during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Double Sculls final at the London 2012 Olympic Games

Dame Katherine told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme before the service: ‘It’s an absolutely massive privilege to be carrying it. We have had a little rehearsal, so I have met the sword. The sword is brand new so it’s the first time it has been used in anything.’

Elizabeth Sword vs Sword of State 

The Elizabeth Sword

DATE: 2023

WEIGHT: 7.5kg

LENGTH: 4ft 10in

COST: £22,000

POMMEL: Lewisian gneiss

SCABBARD: Perthshire oak

DESIGN: Thistles and the Scottish landscape

ENGRAVED: Royal motto, ‘In my defens God me defend’, and ‘Nemo me impune lacessit’ (no-one provokes me with impunity)

The Sword of State

DATE: 1678

WEIGHT: 3.6kg

LENGTH: 4ft 11.75 in

COST: Priceless

POMMEL: Silver-gilt

SCABBARD: Wood covered in velvet with appliqued silver-gilt emblems including a rose, thistle, harp, and fleur-de-lis, with a portcullis, royal lions, and the coat of arms of William III.

DESIGN: A rampant lion and unicorn with fleur-de-lis and Tudor rose

ENGRAVED: Etched

She added: ‘What’s really impressive is it’s really well weighted, so when you have it upright as it will be carried in, it feels right. It sits quite comfortably, but you need to lay it down and lift it up, so the manoeuvring of it has been a bit challenging so it takes a bit of practice.

‘I think everyone’s biggest fear is that it looks as spectacular as it should and I don’t drop it anywhere.’

Fortunately, she did not drop it and social media users were quick to praise the Olympic champion.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: ‘Well done, former Olympic rower, Dame Katherine Grainger, for carrying the heavy new Elizabeth Sword & presenting it to King Charles. It is over twice the weight of that carried by Penny Mordaunt at the Coronation. The musical interludes at the Service in St Giles are exquisite.’

Meanwhile Rachel Hooper said: ‘Fantastic to see a rowing hero involved in such a special ceremony. Congratulations Katherine Grainger!’

The Edinburgh Garrison Sergeant Major added: ‘Dame Katherine Grainger did a great job as did all the honour bearers.’

Another user joked that the 7.5kg Elizabeth Sword ‘makes Penny’s sword look like a toothpick’.

It was exactly two months ago that Ms Mordaunt, who is Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Privy Council, became the star of the King’s Coronation.

After being hailed for her incredible performance where she held the sword for almost an hour at a right angle to her body, she told the BBC: ‘I was not in the gym six months prior to this.’

But she added: ‘You want to make sure you are in good nick and I did take a couple of painkillers beforehand just to make sure I was going to be all right.

‘We got through it, only half the ceremony I had to carry the sword of state, which is the really heavy one and I traded it in for the very exquisite, jewelled sword of offering which is much lighter.’ 

Several people on social media praised Dame Katherine, while others compared her and Ms Mordaunt

The Tory MP for Portsmouth North said her Royal Navy training in the city equipped her with the knowledge that ‘wriggling your toes’ will ensure improved circulation while standing for long periods. She said: ‘I was not in the gym for six months prior to this,’ but added: ‘You want to make sure you are in good nick.’ 

Ms Mordaunt signed up as a Royal Naval Reservist in 2010. She was made an honorary commander in 2019 and an honorary captain in 2021.

Social media users were also on hand to praise Ms Mordaunt after her starring role in the service.

Notable figures including a number of fellow MPs complimented her, with Labour MP Emily Thornberry tweeting: ‘Got to say it, @PennyMordaunt looks damn fine! The sword bearer steals the show.’

Author and columnist Caitlin Moran also commented on the social media buzz around Ms Mordaunt’s role, saying: ‘Penny Mordaunt’s sword is the ‘Pippa Middleton’s Bum’ of the Coronation.’

Labour MP Chris Bryant said in a tweet: ‘The Penny is mightier than the sword.’

The Sword of State was created in 1678 and is made of steel and silver gilt with a scabbard of wood, velvet, and silver gilt. It has a broad, straight, flat, two-edged steel blade with an etched decoration.

Its silver-gilt hilt is in the form of a crucifix – its quillons (cross guard) are in the form of a rampant lion and unicorn while there is a fleur-de-lis at the front of the quillon block and a Tudor rose at the back.

Penny Mordaunt (pictured on May 6) revealed that she took painkillers to help her endure role of carrying ceremonial swords during the King’s Coronation – and explained how her navy training came in handy

Dressed in a teal blue dress with gold detail and a matching cape, Ms Mordaunt, 50, carried the 17th-century Sword of State into Westminster Abbey before presenting it to the King in his throne. 

Penny holds the Swords of State during the service. Dame Katherine held the responsibility of carrying the sword at King Charles’ Coronation in Scotland

Lord President of the Council Penny Mordaunt presents the Sword of State to King Charles III, during the Coronation at Westminster Abbey on May 6

King Charles III with the Sovereign’s Orb, as Lord President of the Council Penny Mordaunt carry’s the Sword of State

King Charles III wearing St Edward’s Crown, and Queen Camilla wearing Queen Mary’s Crown, with Lord President of the Council Penny

Its wooden scabbard is covered in velvet with applied silver-gilt emblems such as a rose, thistle, harp, and fleur-de-lis, with a portcullis, royal lions, and the coat of arms of William III.

The sword is currently housed with the rest of the regalia in the Tower of London. It was used by the late Queen for events such as the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969 and the VE Day service in St Paul’s Cathedral in 1995.

READ MORE: ‘Katherine Grainger is the new Penny Mordaunt’: Gold-winning Olympian is praised for Herculean effort after carrying sword at St Giles service that is TWICE the weight of one used at Coronation 

In contrast, the Elizabeth sword is the most modern of the ceremonial swords in a tradition that dates back to the 19th century. The original sword that was gifted to James IV in 1507 can no longer be used because of its fragility.

Designed by former Ormond Pursuivant of Arms Mark Dennis and worked on by a number of expert Scottish craftspeople, the sword features a pommel of Lewisian gneiss, and a scabbard wrought from Perthshire oak. 

Engraved on one side of the blade is engraved the Royal motto: ‘In my defens God me defend’; on the other the motto of the Order of the Thistle ‘Nemo me impune lacessit’, which means no one harasses me with impunity. 

The Elizabeth Sword will be returned to Edinburgh Castle along with the Crown and Sceptre, under the care of Historic Environment Scotland.

On Wednesday, spectators watched a people’s procession make its way from Edinburgh Castle to the cathedral – a group around 100 strong, reflecting all aspects of Scottish society from the arts and politics, to education, civil society and business, including charities which the King supports as patron.

The Elizabeth sword is the most modern of the ceremonial swords in a tradition that dates back to the 19th century

The Elizabeth Sword will be returned to Edinburgh Castle along with the Crown and Sceptre, under the care of Historic Environment Scotland

Paul Macdonald, custom sword and knife maker, holds the Elizabeth Sword which now forms part of the Honours of Scotland

At its head was Shetland pony Corporal Cruachan IV, regimental mascot of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Protesters and royal fans lined the streets, with republican groups chanting ‘Not my King’ countered by others shouting ‘God save the King’.

Participants from the people’s procession sat in the cathedral’s pews as the Moderator said ideals like ‘mercy and peace’ should not be ‘domesticated or downgraded’ but be the ‘fabric of our being’.

She also said that society is on the ‘right track’ if people are ‘brave enough’ to ‘choose collaboration and trust over fear-filled circling of our wagons’.

‘Sisters and brothers, look around you. We are one global neighbourhood – intricately inter-related and completely co-dependent, woven together, like a tartan,’ she said.

Scotland’s First Minister, Humza Yousaf, gave a Bible reading from the Old Testament during the service, and Olympic rower Dame Katherine Grainger carried the Sword of State.

The Rt Rev Foster-Fulton concluded by telling the King and Queen: ‘Your Majesties, you have made it part of your mission to speak alongside creation, advocating for it. As we present the Honours of Scotland to you, we commit ourselves to walking that journey with you.

‘We are all a small part of something so much bigger – this beautiful, sacred creation and everyone and everything in it. Thanks be to God.’

As the royal party left the cathedral to return to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, a 21-gun salute was fired from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle.

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