Celebrations fit for a king

All the ways to watch and celebrate King Charles' coronation around Dallas-Fort Worth

King Charles and Queen Camilla will be crowned on Saturday, May 6.

Facebook/The Royal Family

Hip hip, hooray! Eight months after the death of Britain’s beloved Queen Elizabeth II, it’s finally time for the coronation of King Charles III and soon-to-be Queen Camilla, on Saturday May 6 at London's Westminster Abbey. Dallas-Fort Worth is ready to party with the rest of the world tuning in to watch all the pomp and pageantry that makes Britain great.

It’s all happening a wee bit early for DFW royal-watchers. The coronation service will start at 5 am CDT time (11 am in London), with a horse-and-carriage procession starting around 4 am. The two-hour service will be followed by more carriage processions and a royal family appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

Set your alarm, fluff your fascinator, and use this guide to the local coronation-watching parties, royal-themed events, specials, and more. (It will be updated as more are announced.) Prefer to watch in your jammies at home? Check out the viewer’s guide below.

British Emporium
Dallas-Fort Worth’s premier destination for all things British will host a Coronation Watch Party in the parking lot, 140 N. Main St., Grapevine. Guests are asked to bring their own chairs and to dress as if attending at Westminster Abbey; fascinators are encouraged.

Viewing of the procession will begin at 4 am. Attendees are asked to arrive by 5 am so as not to disrupt the Coronation when it begins at 5 am. At 7 am, the viewing will end and the store will open to shop commemorative items. British Emporium has an impressive selection of official coronation teacups and mugs, books, tea towels, shopping bags, Christmas ornaments, and more. (They also have party items like paper bowls, napkins, children’s activities books, and British groceries like pasties, meat pies, and sausage rolls for at-home celebrations.)

Special guests Amy Bishop from WRR Classical 101.1 FM and Bill Young from KERA will join the party.

At 11 am, His Grace Bishop Keith L. Ackerman, bishop for the Diocese of Quincy in the Episcopal Church, and the bishop vicar of the Diocese of Quincy of the Anglican Church in North America and Assisting Bishop of Fort Worth, will be at the store to say a blessing for the new king.

The Londoner
All three DFW locations - Colleyville, Addison, and Mockingbird Station Dallas - will host Coronation Celebrations from 5-10 am May 6. Coffee and tea, scones & crumpets, and bacon/egg/toast will be served during the live coronation broadcast. The Dallas and Addison locations encourage patrons to arrive early; reservations for the Colleyville location are required here.

Regular brunch with tea and scones will be served at all locations from 11 am-3 pm. A signature cocktail called "His Majesty" along with English Rosie & Pimms Cup cocktails will be offered at a discount all day.

A special afternoon tea will be available by reservation only in Colleyville from 10 am-2 pm.

From Across the Pond
The British gastropub in Colleyville will offer coronation-day specials: Baked Chicken Entree, Mushroom on Toast Appetizer, and Victoria Trifle for dessert.

Central Market
Central Market cooking schools in Dallas, Plano, and Fort Worth will host Coronation-themed classes this week:

Afternoon Tea: A Coronation Tea Party will take place 3-4:30 pm Thursday, May 4 at Central Market-Lovers Lane and 3-4:30 pm Sunday, May 7 at Central Market Plano. Guests will learn about and enjoy traditional tea, coronation pastries, and more. Menu includes Scottish Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches, Beef Wellington Bites, White Cheddar & Chive Shortbread Coins, Buckingham Palace's Fruit Scones, Strawberry & White Chocolate Mini-Cakes, Chocolate Biscuits, Lemon Bar Bites, and Pots of Hot Tea. Reservations are $50, and the class is 16+.

Central Market Lovers Lane, Plano, and Fort Worth cooking schools will host A Coronation Dinner at 6 pm May 6. Menu for the hands-on class includes Coronation Roast Rack of Lamb with Asian-style Marinade with Roasted Potatoes, Coronation Aubergine (Grilled Eggplant with Fried Onions, Raisins & Coriander), Strawberry & Ginger Trifle. The 2 ½-hour class is $75, for 18+ up (those 21 and older will get a complimentary glass of wine.)

British-themed events continue Sunday, May 7 with a Great British Baking Intensive at Central Market-Lovers Lane (details here) and an Alice in Wonderland-inspired tea party for parents and kids at Central Market Fort Worth (details here.)

The Proper Baking Co.
The East Dallas bakery, which handcrafts authentic British baked goods, is offering a celebratory King’s Coronation Menu. Choices include Coronation lemonade cupcakes, Coronation Chicken pasties and party-size savory pies, chocolate biscuit cakes, sausage rolls, scones, crumpets, beef Wellington, and more. Orders must be placed 24hours in advance. DFW Delivery is available Wednesday and Friday, and curbside pickup is available from their kitchen at 2201 Tucker St. #110, Dallas. (UPDATE: As of Tuesday, May 2, they closed pre-orders but announced they would be at the Dallas Farmers Market on Saturday, May 6 for last-minute coronation needs.)

Ida Claire
In honor of the coronation, the Addison restaurant has crafted a cocktail called The King’s Gambit, described as a modern take on the classic Royal Balmoral Punch. The mixologist behind the drink told Forbes the elegant cocktail is a blend of apricot-infused Aberfeldy 12-year-old Scotch and apricot brandy, organic English breakfast demerara syrup, fresh-pressed apple juice, and lemon juice. It's finished with black walnut bitters and apple bitters and garnished with three lemon roses on a crown cocktail pick and served with an edible flower ice sphere. It was inspired by King Charles's love for scotch and draws inspiration from the royal family’s summer home, Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

The Adolphus
The Adolphus hotel is celebrating Coronation Day through the month of May with a glamorous package fit for a king or queen. And for good reason: Buckingham Palace selected The Adolphus for the official state visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to Dallas in 1991. At their request, the hotel says, the Queen and the Duke were introduced to every staff member who personally served them during their stay, and the Queen, as a thank-you, gifted an official portrait to be hung in the hotel lobby.

The Adolphus’ exclusive Royal Stay package costs a pearl-clutching $15,000 and includes:

one-night accommodation in a luxury suite with a limited edition coronation tea set by ceramicist Nicole Acquillano.
full use of the Butler’s Pantry with refrigerator, dining table set for six, ample living space with sofa and seating, and a billiards table.
two bottles of Bollinger with exclusive Charles III Coronation Cut Crystal Highland Champagne Flutes.
a private tour in a Rolls Royce Ghost sedan to explore Dallas for the day.
two tickets to the “Royal Tea Service” in The French Room during the month of May.
a Fortnum and Mason Globetrotter Picnic Hamper filled with teas, chocolates, biscuits and more by Fortnum and Mason.

Local viewing guide

No matter how you watch the coronation, you can prepare and follow along using this handy Coronation Liturgy guide.

Major networks and news channels including ABC, NBC/MSNBC, CBS, PBS, CNN, Fox News, and BBC America will cover the coronation live, with most beginning coverage at 4 am. (Some will begin coverage earlier or will air coronation-related specials before the broadcast; check local listings.) Find out more details about anchors, special guests, and commentators here.

Those without cable TV providers will be able to live stream it on DIRECTV, Hulu + Live TV, FuboTV and Sling TV.

You can also watch several live streams on the Sky News and BBC website, app, and YouTube channels.

For the most authentically British coverage, download the BritBox streaming app or stream at BritBox.com or on its Youtube channel. (You can sign up for a free seven-day trial, then it’s $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year.)

On Sunday, May 7, a Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle featuring performances by Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Tom Cruise, Andrea Bocelli, and more superstars will be covered live on ABC’s Good Morning America beginning at 2 am. (Other networks are expected to cover it, too.) BBC, producer of the concert, will stream it live on their platforms.

Coronation Coronation Celebrations King Charles Queen Camilla galas

Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

---

The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

movies film