King Charles III Coronation: Penny Mordaunt laughs off Poundland meme trends now

This Morning presenters Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond had a go at carrying the Sword of State live on air today - as Penny Mordaunt laughed off the Poundland meme about her Coronation outfit which she helped to design.

As Lord President of the Council, Ms Mordaunt was responsible at Westminster Abbey for bearing the Sword of State and presenting the Jewelled Sword of Offering to the King - the first time the role has been carried out by a woman.

The Cabinet minister, wearing a custom-made teal outfit with a matching cape and headband with gold feather embroidery, held the pieces for much of the service.

And Ms Mordaunt, whose performance and stamina during the highly visible role won praise across the political spectrum, brought the sword with her to the This Morning sofa today so O'Leary and Hammond could have a try at holding it.

The sword was brought onto the set by Prince Philip's close friend Gyles Brandreth who joked that he was auditioning for the next coronation in 'about 25 years'.

Hammond said: 'It's really heavy, I can feel it straight away, on the shoulders and in the body. You can feel it in your body.' And O'Leary added: 'Penny Mordaunt, you must have been doing a bit of training for that, feeling the burn already. Good stuff.' 

During the programme, Ms Mordaunt was asked about the design of her outfit, and said: 'Well, what my predecessor would have worn, and he'd have been a fella, he would have been wearing the Court Dress of the Privy Council which I didn't think was appropriate for me to wear in what was a modern Coronation. 

'So the bling you saw on the dress was actually the motif of the Privy Council. And so we took that and put it on the dress.

She continued: 'I had a lot of help, lots of good advice, and even people who weren't directly involved with making the dress and doing the embroidery, the people over at the Privy Council office who got out all the old uniforms and helped me get some ideas together.'

Ms Mordaunt was also asked about the various memes on social media about her role, including one comparing her outfit to the Poundland logo.

She told This Morning: 'This is what I love about the great British public. We were waiting for the kebab, the lightsaber, all of that - they did not disappoint. There's been some absolute classics.'

Speaking about the day, she said: 'I was one of millions, I obviously got a lot of attention, but there were so many people doing amazing, amazing work behind the scenes - it was just an amazing event.'

Ms Mordaunt was also asked whether she knew what her role would be at the Coronation when she took over as Lord President of the Council last September.

She said: 'Of course no, I didn't know, and in fact it was the very week we lost Her Majesty The Queen that I actually got this job. Of course none of this was known.'

Speaking about her reaction to finding out what she would have to do, Ms Mordaunt said: 'I gradually became aware of what the role entailed and it was an amazing privilege to do it. It was difficult but I think what kept us all going was the people that were with us.

'There were three guys behind me also with swords, who got no attention at all, three former defence chiefs, and we just all looked after each other and managed to deliver on the day.'

She also spoke about her training, and said the 'real challenge was holding it during rehearsals - that was holding it for much longer because we were obviously working out what we were going to do with particular things'.

Ms Mordaunt continued: 'I was a bit sore the following day. But General Gordon Messenger who was carrying the Crown, I think his uniform weighed about the same

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