Everything You Need to Know About The Coronation
Where it is, what time it is, where to watch it and who will be there...
At the tender age of four, Prince Charles became heir to the throne. At Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation, he became the first child in history to see his mother crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953. Now, on Saturday 6 May, almost 70 years to that day, King Charles will be fulfilling his destiny when he becomes the 40th monarch to be anointed and crowned at the 1,000-year-old Abbey. Camilla, Queen Consort, will be anointed and crowned alongside him. As the nation prepares to celebrate this historic ceremony, here’s The Royal List’s handy hour-by-hour guide to the big day…
9am Guests arrive: most of the congregation are meant to be seated by this time. Keep your eyes peeled for Joanna Lumley and The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades among the 2,000 guests. Between 9.30-10am minor members of the Royal Family arrive, alongside heads of state, foreign monarchs and senior politicians, guests such as First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain.
10.20am King’s Procession: Charles and Camilla will travel in the Diamond Jubilee Coach from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. The procession will pass along The Mall, through Admiralty Arch and down Whitehall and around Parliament Square.
11am Coronation Ceremony: Arriving at the Great West Door of the Abbey at 10.53am, Charles and Camilla will walk up the nave towards the Coronation Chair, close to the altar. Prince George will be seen as one of the King’s four Pages of Honour, who will be carrying his grandfather’s robes. Camilla’s three grandsons and great-nephew will do the same for her.
A key part of ceremony, the anointing, is the most sacred and will not be televised or seen by the congregation, taking place behind a specially-commissioned Anointing Screen. The ritual involves the Archbishop of Canterbury pouring holy oil on the King’s head, hands and breast.
After this, comes the investiture, when the King is robed in a supertunica, a full-length coat of gold silk and presented with regalia, such as spurs, sword, Coronation Orb, Sovereign’s Ring and the two Sceptres, which are placed in each hand.
The Crowning: With Charles sitting on Edward I’s Coronation Chair (with the Stone of Destiny beneath it), St Edward’s Crown, the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels and created for the Coronation of King Charles II in 1661, will now be placed on King Charles III’s head. It weighs 2.23kg (almost 5lbs) and has 444 gemstones. After moving to the throne, it is expected at this point that William will make his pledge of allegiance to his father. It is only now that Camilla will be anointed and crowned with Queen Mary’s Crown in a simpler ceremony.
1pm Coronation Procession: The King and Queen follow the same route back to the Palace in the famous Golden State Coach. Charles will be wearing the Imperial State Crown at this point. This procession will feature 4,000 military personnel. Look out for Princess Anne as she rides behind the coach in her prestigious position as ‘Gold-Stick-in-Waiting’, a protector of the King.
2.15pm Balcony and The flypast: The day’s events will wrap up with possibly our favourite moments. The working members of the Royal Family will step out onto the famous balcony to greet the crowds and watch an impressive 60-plus aircraft flypast. We wonder if Prince Louis will be packing some noise-cancelling headphones. Let’s hope not!
Where to watch the Coronation
If you’re not up for camping out on The Mall (a couple were spotted yesterday bagging their prime position) you can watch all the majestic pomp and pageantry from your comfy sofa. For UK viewers, the BBC’s TV and radio coverage starts from 7.30am, ITV from 8.30am and Sky News at 6am.
If you are in London and fancy being close to the action, big screens are going up in Hyde Park, Green Park and St James’s Park to watch the Coronation live. The Culture Secretary also announced that big screens will be placed in more than 30 locations across Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.
Our favourite Coronation mishaps
We can’t wait for the Coronation, especially if something goes slightly awry – as per tradition. The Queen used to thoroughly enjoy it when formal events hit a little hiccup, so here are our favourite mistakes:
At Queen Victoria’s coronation in 1838, one poor elderly lord fell down the stairs as he went to pay tribute to her and had to be held up to try again and again.
The Archbishop of Canterbury also crammed the Coronation Ring onto Victoria’s wrong finger, meaning she had to ice it afterwards to get it off.
Forget Harry’s invite hoo-hah, George IV didn’t invite his own wife to his ceremony in 1821. Queen Caroline, who was estranged from him, came anyway and demanded to be let in, so she could be crowned. She wasn’t.
At the same coronation, the weather was so hot and the ceremony so long, many ladies fainted and the guests were covered in globs of wax from the 2000 candles, which melted in the heat.
At Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, her gown and robe were so heavy, she got stuck on the newly-laid thick carpet and had to be shoved to get going.
Also at the Queen’s coronation, they discovered all the toilet roll had been stolen from Westminster Abbey. “In future it will be necessary to take special steps to prevent this,” noted the planners.
The King and Queen of Eurovision
Our favourite event of the week was seeing the King and Queen Consort in Liverpool, as they unveiled the set for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. On Wednesday, they started the countdown to the biggest song contest in the world. Joined by Tim Davie, BBC Director-General, they met the crew and chatted to hosts, Ukrainian singer, Julia Sanina, Hannah Waddingham and Rylan and Scott Mills, as well as UK entrant Mae Muller. “We’ll be egging you on,” said Charles, while Mae joked, “No nil points this year.”
The Waleses wow Wales
In the week that saw William and Catherine celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary by posting an adorable couple shot (see it here), they also gave us more #couplegoals by abseiling while taking part in a mock mountain rescue on a two-day visit to South Wales.
On a wet Thursday afternoon in the Brecon Beacons, the Princess playfully told the Prince of Wales, “We’re not racing,” before she descended a cliff. William is patron of the Mountain Rescue England and Wales. They later popped into Dowlais Rugby Club, helping with a big order of takeaway pizza, and chatting to the volunteers of the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team.
On a sadder note, the following day the couple visited Aberfan Memorial Garden. Paying their respects to the 116 children and 28 adults who died on 21 October 1966, when a coal-tip landslide swept down the hillside smashing through houses before engulfing the village’s Pantglas Junior School. The Garden, situated on the site of the destroyed school, was opened by the late Queen in 1974.
Model monarchs
This week, Madame Tussauds unveiled its new waxwork of Camilla, Queen Consort and we have to say, it’s pretty good. We reckon she’ll be happy with that. The waxwork is now on display, in its new Royal Palace Experience. To be honest, it’s probably the closest most of us will get to a photo with the King and Queen. For tickets, visit madametussauds.com
Charles, meanwhile, had the honour of a different kind of model, as a bust of him was created out chocolate. The life-size bust, made entirely of Celebrations, took four weeks to make, weighs 23kg and consists of 17 litres of melted chocolate. It’s on display at Mars HQ in Slough. Talk about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Happy birthday Charlotte!
It’s a massive week for the royals, not least because the fun and feisty Princess Charlotte turns eight on Tuesday. It’s a school day but we bet Catherine will bake a cake ready for birthday tea. Also, on their grandfather’s big day at Westminster Abbey, Charlotte’s cousin, Prince Archie, will be celebrating his fourth birthday in America. Happy birthday to them both!