The crown has been resized. The troops are prepared for the biggest military procession in 70 years. The Gold State Coach is ready to roll.
Now it’s time for the show.
King Charles III will be crowned on Saturday at Westminster Abbey in an event full of all the pageantry Britain can muster.
Enrobed clergymen will hand over the medieval symbols of power: the rod, the sceptre and the orb. Brass bands and soldiers in bearskin hats will troop through the streets.
And the new king and queen will presumably end the day on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to wave to the cheering crowds.
Scroll down for the full schedule
There’s purpose behind the pomp: to buttress the crown’s foundations and show that the people of the United Kingdom still support their monarch.
Royal historian Robert Lacey compared the event to a US presidential election and an inauguration rolled into one – a celebration as well as a test of how the public sees the new sovereign.
“The king obviously is not subject to the vote and so these big public rituals are the closest royal people get to that sort of test,” he said.
“Its basic purpose is to attract the loyalty and interest of British people to demonstrate that crowd outside Buckingham Palace waving at the balcony.”
But, while TV screens around the world will be filled with flag-waving fans, Charles’ coronation comes at a difficult time for the royals.
Opinion polls show support for the monarchy has weakened over time.
Britain is gripped by double-digit inflation that is eroding living standards and making some people question the expense of the coronation.
And the royal family is riven with controversy as Charles’ younger son, Prince Harry, lobs criticism from his base in southern California.
More fundamentally, some in Britain’s increasingly diverse society want a re-examination of the monarchy’s links to the trade in enslaved Africans and its role in the former British Empire, which ruled over large parts of Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.
The king has tried to address some of those concerns by promising to open the royal archives to researchers studying the family’s links with slavery.
But the coronation will be a broader, more symbolic effort to show the monarchy still has a role to play.
The crowning of Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, will feature many of the elements of coronations past – the hymns, the prayers, the anointing with oils – all of which are designed to remind the world of the history, tradition and mystery embodied by the monarchy.
But the festivities have been tailored to better reflect modern Britain, where about 18 per cent of the population describe themselves as belonging to an ethnic minority.
That compares with less than 1 per cent when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953.
For the first time, religious leaders representing Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh traditions will play an active role in the ceremony.
Symbolically, Charles will open the service by facing a young choirboy and pledging to serve – not to be served – and he has scrapped the centuries-old tradition of having the most senior members of the aristocracy pledge their loyalty to him.
Instead, the congregation and those watching at home will be invited to pledge allegiance to the king.
The ceremony will also be shorter: about two hours, instead of three.
Here is a look at everything we know so far about the coronation and how the celebrations will unfold.
Saturday
The big day begins early with viewing areas opening along the procession route at 6am and guests for Westminster Abbey beginning to arrive at security checkpoints in Victoria Tower Gardens between 7.15am and 8.30am.
Heads of state, overseas government representatives, government ministers, first ministers, former PMs, foreign royals and members of the royal family will arrive between 9.30am and 10.45am.
Some of those expected to be among the 2300 guests include US First Lady Jill Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng, Sinn Fein’s leader in Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and all his living predecessors are expected to be there alongside cabinet ministers and Opposition Leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Others expected to be in the congregation are TV presenters Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful and singer-songwriter Lionel Richie.
The king and queen consort’s procession will set off from Buckingham Palace at 10.20am and arrive at Westminster Abbey at 10.53am.
The service will begin at 11am and last for two hours, with the key moment coming at midday when the King is crowned.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will place the St Edward’s Crown on Charles’ head. Trumpets will sound and gun salutes will be fired across the UK.
When the service ends, the newly crowned king and queen will embark on their coronation procession back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach via the tried and tested route of Parliament Square, along Whitehall, around Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and down The Mall, arriving back at Buckingham Palace at 1.33pm.
The Coronation Procession stretches to just 2.1km – about a quarter of the length of the late queen’s five-mile celebratory journey.
Thousands of members of the armed forces will take part on the day of the coronation – the largest military ceremonial operation for 70 years – staging gun salutes and a flypast, and parading in the processions.
Charles and Camilla will receive a royal salute from the military in the palace gardens at 1.45pm.
This will be followed by a balcony moment when the couple will be joined by other members of the royal family to watch a flypast about 2.15pm.
Big screens will be placed in royal parks including Hyde Park, Green Park and St James’s Park so royal fans can watch the day’s events.
More than 57 locations across the UK will have big screens enabling more than 100,000 people to watch the events in their home towns, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
For those who do not plan on venturing out for the celebrations, they can watch it all on television from the comfort of their couch.
Sunday
Thousands of street parties are expected to be held at the weekend, with people encouraged to come together across the country for the Coronation Big Lunch.
A palace spokeswoman said big lunches would take place from Saturday to Monday “in a nationwide act of celebration and friendship”.
On Sunday, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will attend a big lunch in Cranleigh, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence will attend a community street party in Swindon, and Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will attend a big lunch in Windsor.
Later, about 20,000 members of the public are expected to attend the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle where they will see performances by Take That, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Paloma Faith, Olly Murs, veteran rock guitarist Steve Winwood and Nicole Scherzinger of The Pussycat Dolls.
The show, hosted by Paddington and Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville, will feature Hollywood star Tom Cruise, Dynasty actress Dame Joan Collins, adventurer Bear Grylls and singer Sir Tom Jones appearing via video message.
Classical acts including Andrea Bocelli, Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel and Chinese pianist Lang Lang will also perform.
The Royal Ballet, the Royal Opera, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal College of Music and the Royal College of Art will come together for the first time to create a one-off performance featuring Sex Education and Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa and Olivier Award nominee Mei Mac.
As part of the Coronation Concert, choreographed lasers, projections and drone displays will radiate over historic bridges and buildings.
Monday
The Big Help Out will take place on bank holiday Monday, with the aim of inspiring and recruiting a new generation of volunteers by showing how easy it is to get involved.
Buckingham Palace said the Big Help Out will “highlight the positive impact volunteering has on communities across the nation”.
Edward and Sophie will take part in a puppy class at the Guide Dogs training centre in Reading, while Anne and Sir Tim will attend a civic service recognising local volunteers at Gloucester Cathedral.
The service will be followed by a short reception for invited volunteers and representatives of voluntary organisations from across Gloucestershire.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester will meet young volunteers from the Coptic Orthodox Church at a coronation party at St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Kensington.
The palace spokeswoman said according to the latest polling, an estimated 6.5 million people say they are planning to take part in the Big Help Out – ranging from community litter picks to signing up to longer-term volunteering opportunities with a wide range of charities.
The palace said while “wholly supportive” of the Big Help Out initiatives on Monday, Charles and Camilla will not be attending any of the events in person.
Like stories that inform, connect and celebrate the Sunshine Coast? So do we. Join an independent local news revolution by subscribing to our FREE daily news feed at the bottom of this article.
