The coaches have been polished, royalists are camping on the Mall, and Westminster Abbey is being given its final touches – coronation weekend is almost here.
Millions will be tuning in to watch a new British monarch crowned for the first time in 70 years. The King and Queen’s coronation will feature the largest military ceremonial parade in 70 years, with more than 6,000 men and women from British and Commonwealth armed forces set to lead Charles and Camilla to and from Westminster Abbey.
The ceremony will be different to last time as both King and Queen are being crowned.
When will Queen Camilla be crowned?
When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned she was there alone, Prince Philip was not crowned beside her as King consort. This time, Charles will be up there with his wife Camilla, who will also be involved in the coronation.
The King is crowned first, and this is due to happen at midday exactly. After that there is a fanfare, the abbey bells ring for two minutes, a blessing from a variety of religious leaders, a prayer by Thomas Weelkes, and the enthroning of the king, where he sits on his throne. Then there is an homage to the royal lineage, the people, and the Church of England.
Then the Queen is crowned. The entire ceremony finishes at 1pm, so Camilla will become Queen between the King’s coronation at 12 and 1pm.
Here is the full timetable of events for coronation day:
- 6am – viewing areas open along the procession route
- 7.15-8.30am – guests to Westminster Abbey begin to arrive at security checkpoints in Victoria Tower Gardens
- 9am – congregation to be seated inside the abbey
- 9.30-10.45am – heads of state, overseas government representatives, Government ministers, First Ministers, former PMs, foreign royals and members of the Royal Family arrive
- 9.45am – the Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry begin to gather ready for the procession from Buckingham Palace
- 10.20am – the King and Queen’s procession sets off from the Palace
- 10.53am – the King and Queen arrive at Westminster Abbey
- 11am – Charles and Camilla enter the abbey through the Great West Door and the service begins
- 12pm – the King is crowned. The Archbishop of Canterbury places the St Edward’s Crown on Charles’s head. Trumpets will sound and gun salutes will be fired across the UK
- 1pm – the service ends and the newly crowned King and Queen begin their coronation procession back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach
- 1.33pm – Charles and Camilla are expected to enter Buckingham Palace through the Centre Arch
- 1.45pm – the King and Queen receive a royal salute from the military in the Palace gardens
- Around 2.15pm – the King, Queen and members of the Royal Family appear on the Palace balcony to watch the flypast
How long is the coronation service?
While Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was three hours long, King Charles III is expected to have a shorter ceremony.
According to the Buckingham Palace, the coronation itself – which is expected to be scaled back from previous versions – will still be “a solemn religious service, as well as an occasion for celebration and pageantry”.
The service will “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry”.
The service will come after a 30 minute procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.
It then begins at 11am and should be finished by 1pm, making it around two hours long. The king will be crowned at midday.
What can we expect from the coronation?
The coronation celebrations will kick off on the morning of Saturday 6 May. The King and Queen will be crowned in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey at 11am.
Before and after the ceremony, a procession including the King and Queen will travel through London. They will follow a tried and tested 1.3 mile route between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, which involves travelling down the Mall, through Admiralty Arch, around Trafalgar Square, along Whitehall into Parliament Square.
The route is much shorter than the Queen’s five-mile return expedition around central London in 1953, during which the 27-year-old monarch waved to crowds along Piccadilly, Oxford Street and Regent Street.
According to the Palace, the coronation service itself will “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry”.
Those who will be taking on ceremonial roles include former TV presenter and Windrush campaigner Baroness Floella Benjamin, and Petty Officer Amy Taylor, who will be the first woman to bear the King’s Sword of Offering into the abbey.
After the coronation procession back to Buckingham Palace, Charles and Camilla will be joined by family members on the balcony.
Later, more than 60 aircraft from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force will fly over Buckingham Palace and The Mall in central London. The fly past can usually be seen over Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex as well.
What is the coronation procession route?
Before the coronation, Charles and Camilla will make their way through London in a procession.
The route stretches to just 1.3 miles – around a quarter of the length of the late Queen’s five-mile celebratory journey:
After they have been crowned, Charles and the Queen will make their way back from Westminster Abbey via the same tried and tested journey.
They will follow Parliament Square, along Whitehall, around Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and down The Mall back to Buckingham Palace.
The coronation of King Charles III
You can follow the coronation as it happens with our live blog here, and this is a full timetable of the coronation, and details of the concert.
Ahead of the ceremony, republican protesters were arrested before they could begin protests. New anti-protest laws were used to do it.
This week, The i Podcast looks at whether King Charles III could be the last monarch of a Commonwealth realm which was born from the British Empire and funded by the proceeds of slavery. Listen here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Acast | Wherever you listen