Moving on: The Coronation of King Charles III,
Politics, Energy, Changes at APM
and the Missing Pieces Project
REPORT
By Miles Shepherd
Executive Advisor & International Correspondent
Salisbury, England, UK
INTRODUCTION
I had planned to base this edition around the theme of “Moving On” because there have been some major changes in the UK environment. There are, however, other matters to bring to your attention that do not sit comfortably under that banner so the first part is “Moving On” and I leave it to you to identify a theme in the remainder. I feel I should also warn you that there are no trigger warnings despite some challenging matters in this report. As you are involved with the Project World, I believe you to have a robust attitude so such warnings are not necessary.
MOVING ON
- Coronation of King Charles III
Most readers will have been all too well aware of a major project that took place in London on 6 May. Press coverage was staggering, a significant project in its own right so people around the world were able to see what here in UK was an historic event. The Coronation of HM King Charles III was certainly the most complex project seen in this country for many years.
Royal observers will recall that HM Queen Elizabeth II died in Scotland on 8 September and after an elaborate journey arrived in London on followed by lying in State until her State Funeral on 19 September 2022. This set in motion planning for the Coronation.
Image: Getty Images
During his mother’s reign, planning meetings under the banner of Operation Golden Orb had been held annually for many years. Plans were provisional and were updated periodically, a classic example of scenario planning. Schedule planning was driven by several constraints including the need to ensure sufficient time to mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth II, adapting to the requirements of King Charles and more mundane matters of dress and updating invitations. It would be interesting to see ethe Work Breakdown Structure of the Coronation, which at the top level would have needed accounts for ceremonial, religion, protocol, security, security. No budget has been reported but press speculation put the cost at around £100 million. This seems very conservative when compared to the official cost of the Queen’s funeral was officially announced as £162 million.
Clearly detailed planning critical and not a second will go unscripted. While the Queen’s coronation planning took 14 months, this was reduced to eight months. There is no rule as to when a coronation has to be held. While historical precedent remains the yardstick for the planners, the last coronation was more than 70 years ago and much has changed since then.
It was widely reported that the King’s coronation would “strike a different note” from his mother’s, acting as a “page-turning moment” that moves Britain on from the Elizabethan age. An example of the difference was the opening of the ceremony at Westminster Abbey which began with the King telling a chorister that “I come not to be served, but to serve”. Instead of the traditional epistle from Peter’s gospel about the monarch being “supreme”, a reading from Colossians will pray for the King to be “fruitful in every good work” with God’s guidance.
“Elf n Safdee” struck a note by restricting attendance at the ceremony to only 2200 guests. Invitations were extended to 850 community and charity representatives, including some 450 holders of the British Empire Medal and 400 young people, half of whom were nominated by the British government. Heads of State from more than 200 countries were invited and most attended as can be seen from the map.
More…
To read entire report, click here
How to cite this report: Shepherd, M. (2023). June 2023 Project Management Roundup from the UK, report, PM World Journal, Vol. XII, Issue VI, June. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/pmwj130-Jun2023-Shepherd-UK-Regional-Report.pdf
About the Author
Miles Shepherd
Salisbury, UK
Miles Shepherd is an executive editorial advisor and international correspondent for PM World Journal in the United Kingdom. He is also managing director for MS Projects Ltd, a consulting company supporting various UK and overseas Government agencies, nuclear industry organisations and other businesses. Miles has over 30 years’ experience on a variety of projects in UK, Eastern Europe and Russia. His PM experience includes defence, major IT projects, decommissioning of nuclear reactors, nuclear security, rail and business projects for the UK Government and EU. His consulting work has taken him to Japan, Taiwan, USA and Russia. Past Chair and Fellow of the Association for Project Management (APM), Miles is also past president and chair and a Fellow of the International Project Management Association (IPMA). He was, for seven years, a Director for PMI’s Global Accreditation Centre and is immediate past Chair of the ISO committee developing new international standards for Project Management and for Program/Portfolio Management. He is currently Chairman of the British Standards Institute project management committee. He was involved in setting up APM’s team developing guidelines for project management oversight and governance. Miles is based in Salisbury, England and can be contacted at miles.shepherd@msp-ltd.co.uk.
To view other works by Miles Shepherd, visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at http://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/miles-shepherd/.
