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#King Charles III Coronation: Timetable…Your Complete Guide To The Day

King Charles III Coronation: Timetable…Your Complete Guide To The Day

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King Charles III Coronation: Timetable...Your Complete Guide To The Day

Millions of people across the UK and beyond are preparing to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III – a symbolic ceremony combining a religious service and pageantry.

It is being held at Westminster Abbey on 6 May and the King, who will be crowned along with Camilla, the Queen Consort, will be the 40th reigning monarch crowned there since 1066.

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The day of splendour and formality will feature customs dating back more than 1,000 years. Here is how we expect it to unfold.

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The formal celebrations will begin with a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey with viewing areas along the route opening at 06:00 BST.

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Map showing King's Procession route from Buckingham Palace along The Mall to Trafalgar Square, then down Whitehall and Parliament Street before turning into Parliament Square and Broad Sanctuary to reach the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey

Public access to sites along The Mall and Whitehall will be on a first-come, first-served basis, with people directed to official screening sites in Hyde Park, Green Park and St James’s Park once they are full.

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Stands for invited guests, including armed forces’ veterans and NHS and social care staff, have been erected outside Buckingham Palace.

Another 1,000 service personnel will line the route, but the overall procession will be much smaller than its equivalent in 1953 when other royal families and Commonwealth prime ministers were among those who took part.

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Procession begins

The procession will set off from Buckingham Palace at 10:20 BST (05:20 EDT) moving along The Mall to Trafalgar Square, then down Whitehall and Parliament Street before turning into Parliament Square and Broad Sanctuary to reach the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey.

 

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Graphic showing some of the features of the Diamond Jubilee State Coach - including that it has air conditioning and hydraulic suspension

Westminster Abbey arrival

The procession is expected to arrive at the abbey shortly before 11:00, with the King likely to wear military uniform instead of the more traditional breeches and silk stockings worn by kings before him.

King Charles III in a military uniform and George VI in breeches and stockings

King Charles will enter through the Great West Door and proceed through the nave until he reaches the central space in the abbey.

Graphic showing the inside Westminster Abbey and the position of the nave, quire, coronation area and the high altar

He will be preceded by processions made up of faith leaders and representatives, and representatives from some Commonwealth countries who will carry the flags of their country and be accompanied by the governors general and prime ministers. These will include UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who will also give a reading later in the service.

The ceremony is due to begin at 11:00 and will be punctuated with music selected by the King, with 12 newly commissioned pieces, including one by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Greek Orthodox music in memory of the King’s father, Prince Philip.

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The King’s grandson, Prince George, will be among the pages at Westminster Abbey, alongside Camilla’s grandchildren, Lola, Eliza, Gus, Louis and Freddy. Some of those taking part in the procession inside the abbey will carry the regalia ahead of the King, with most items placed on the altar until needed in the ceremony.

What is the regalia?

The UK is, according to the Royal Family website, the only European country that still uses regalia – the symbols of royalty like the crown, orb and sceptres – in coronations.

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The individual objects symbolise different aspects of the service and responsibilities of the monarch.

Charles will be presented with the Sovereign’s Orb, the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, and the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Dove and other items at key moments in the ceremony.

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Graphic showing the Sovereign's Orb, symbolising the Christian world, the Sceptre with Cross representing kingly power and justice, and the Sceptre with Dove representing the King's spiritual role

And Camilla will be presented with the Queen Consort’s Rod with Dove and the Queen Consort’s Sceptre with Cross – mirroring the King’s sceptres.

There are several stages to the service, which is expected to last a little under two hours.

For the first time members of the public will be invited to pledge their allegiance to the King, in a part of the service organisers are calling the “chorus of millions”. In another departure from tradition, female clergy will play a prominent role and religious leaders from other faiths will have an active part.

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Stage one: The recognition

King Charles will be presented to “the people” – a tradition dating back to Anglo-Saxon times. Standing beside the 700-year-old Coronation Chair, the King will turn to face the four sides of the abbey and be proclaimed the “undoubted King” before the congregation is asked to show their homage and service.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will make the first declaration but, for the first time, the subsequent declarations will be made by the Lady of the Garter and the Lady of the Thistle – representing the oldest orders of chivalry in England and Scotland respectively – and a George Cross holder from the armed forces.

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The congregation will shout “God Save the King!” and trumpets will sound after each recognition.

The Coronation Chair, also known as St Edward’s Chair or King Edward’s Chair, is believed to be the oldest piece of furniture in the UK still used for its original purpose. A total of 26 monarchs have been crowned in it.

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Graphic of the Coronation Chair highlighting the carved graffiti blamed on choirboys and some of the remaining gold-leaf decoration. It also shows where the Stone of Destiny will be placed under the seat.

It was originally made by order of England’s King Edward I to enclose the Stone of Destiny, which had been taken from near Scone in Scotland.

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