Ultimate guide to the Coronation: How and where to watch King Charles’ big day and what is happening over Britain’s three-day royal bank holiday weekend
- MailOnline breaks down everything you need to know about the ceremony with the ultimate coronation guide
Having ascended to the throne in September 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III will be officially crowned as the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom.
It will be the first coronation of a British monarch in over half a century, after the late Queen enjoyed a 70-year reign atop the throne following her coronation.
This was the longest reign by a British monarch and history, with Queen Elizabeth II also recording the longest-ever verified reign of any female monarch.
So, when is King Charles’ coronation? Where will it take place? Will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle be there?
Read on below for the comprehensive MailOnline guide to the coronation of King Charles III.
Coronation Day – Saturday, May 6
The main event, the coronation, will take place on Saturday, 6 May, 2023.
In line with a tradition dating back centuries, King Charles III’s coronation ceremony will be held at Westminster Abbey.
The ceremony will begin at 11am, once the royals have completed their arrival procession from Buckingham Palace. People can line the streets of London to catch a glimpse of the royals, with huge crowds expected given the significance of the event.
Following the ceremony, a return procession, following the same route back, will begin.
In the afternoon, 15 members of the royal family will gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the traditional fly-past to pay homage to Charles and Camilla.
Sunday, May 7
Special occasions will continue through the weekend to mark the coronation of King Charles III. Among these are Big Lunches, which will be held across the UK, allowing communities to come together and commemorate the event.
Bank Holiday Monday, May 8
The Big Help Out will take place on the final day of celebrations for the coronation of King Charles III.
This initiative encourages people to help out in their local communities in any way they can, through different forms of volunteering or charity work.
A number of charities will participate in The Big Help Out, including the Samaritans, RSPCA and the Scouts.
Can I go to the coronation?
Members of the public will not be allowed into Westminster Abbey to witness the coronation ceremony.
However, people will be allowed to line the streets as part of a procession through London to mark the event.
There will also be street parties as well as a coronation concert to commemorate the occasion, which will be held at Windsor Castle on Sunday, 7 May, 2023. Monday, 8 May, 2023, has been designated as a Bank Holiday as part of the celebrations.
Pictured: The official invitation to the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, which will take place on Saturday, 6 May, 2023
How long will the coronation ceremony be?
The ceremony itself is believed to last about an hour, although exact details on the timings of service and its duration remain unclear. Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 took three hours.
How can I watch the coronation?
The coronation itself will be televised.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct the “solemn religious service” of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation, which will take place in the morning and will be televised by the BBC.
A worldwide audience of hundreds of millions is expected to watch.
Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, was the first coronation to ever be aired on TV and sparked an explosion in the ownership of televisions around Britain.
Around 27million people watched the ceremony, with a further 11 million listening on the radio.
The interior of Westminster Abbey, where coronation ceremonies of British monarchs have been held for centuries
Where is the procession?
The procession route taken by Charles and Camilla will be much shorter than the one used by the late Queen for her coronation.
The pair will take the same 1.3-mile route to and from the ceremony.
They will travel down The Mall via Admiralty Arch, going via the south side of Trafalgar Square before proceeding along Whitehall and Parliament Street and take the east and south sides of Parliament Square to Broad Sanctuary to arrive at Westminster Abbey.
Will Camilla be crowned Queen?
The potential naming of Camilla as Queen was avoided by Buckingham Palace for many years, during Charles’ period as heir to the throne.
In what is a break from tradition, Charles’ wife Camilla will be crowned as Queen during the ceremony.
This means plans for her to be referred to as Camilla, Queen consort, have been scrapped.
King Charles and Queen Camilla pictured together at Buckingham Palace prior to the coronation ceremony
What will happen at the coronation?
Charles will be crowned alongside Camilla.
The occasion is expected to be a smaller affair than the late Queen’s ceremony.
A Buckingham Palace statement said in October 2022: ‘The coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.’
It added: ‘The coronation is a solemn religious service, together with an occasion for celebration and pageantry.
‘The ceremony has retained a similar structure for over a thousand years, and this year’s coronation is expected to include the same core elements while recognising the spirit of our times.
‘For the last 900 years, the ceremony has taken place at Westminster Abbey, London. Since 1066, the service has almost always been conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.’
The King is also set to ditch the various outfit changes that his mother had to make.
Whilst some lengthy traditions that featured in 1953 are set to be axed, the highly sacred moment of the anointing of the monarch will be retained.
A canopy of golden cloth will be held over Charles’ head during the anointing, so that no one else can see.
Charles will swear to be the ‘defender of the faith’, not ‘defender of faith’ – a change that was previously speculated.
The King will sit in the Coronation Chair, which dates from the start of the 14th Century.
After being anointed, Charles will have the crown of St Edward placed on his head, officially crowning him as King Charles III. The anointing will not be filmed by TV cameras.
The 1762 Gold State Coach, which was refurbished at great expense for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, will also be part of the Coronation procession.
Prince William will also take on new titles at the Coronation, including being formally named as the Prince of Wales.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have confirmed they have been invited to the King’s Coronation – and have revealed their attendance status
Will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle be at the ceremony?
Prince Harry will attend the King’s Coronation service in London next month alone – with Meghan Markle remaining in California with their children Archie and Lilibet.
Buckingham Palace confirmed the dramatic news in a statement today, saying it was ‘pleased to confirm’ the Duke of Sussex will be at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
But the Duchess will stay home at the couple’s residence in Montecito with one-year-old Lilibet and Archie, whose fourth birthday is on the same day as the ceremony.
The couple’s friend Omid Scobie confirmed Archie’s birthday ‘played a factor in the couple’s decision’ and he expected it would be a ‘fairly quick trip to the UK’ for Harry. The Duke will only attend the ceremony itself.
The announcement comes just over three weeks until the event, and a royal observer told MailOnline: ‘Charles will be pleased. The rest of the family will be relieved that Meghan won’t be there – it would have been particularly uncomfortable for Kate.’
Harry and Meghan had controversially delayed their decision over whether they would fly in for the ceremony, despite the RSVP date of April 3 having passed.
The Duke of York was (pictured) was removed as a working royal in 2019, after being accused of sexual assault
Will Prince Andrew be at the coronation?
It is not yet clear if the Duke of York will be present at King Charles’ official coronation ceremony.
Even if he does attend, he will not have any special ceremonial roles, as he was removed as a working royal in 2019 over alleged sex offences, which he strongly denies.
In February 2023, sources close to the Palace dismissed the idea that Andrew could play a significant part in the proceedings.
Nor will he be invited to stand on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with other members of the family during the Coronation celebrations.
The late Queen, however, did not remove him of his ceremonial role in the Royal Victorian Order following the allegations.
What crown will King Charles wear?
King Charles will wear St Edward’s Crown, which was made in 1661 for the coronation of King Charles II.
It is made of solid gold and features more than 400 gemstones, including six sapphires, and 12 rubies. It weighs nearly 5lbs (2.23kg).
St Edward’s Crown is a replacement for the original that was among the Crown Jewels that were melted down and sold off when the monarchy was abolished in 1649.
King Charles will wear St Edward’s Crown, which was made in 1661 for the coronation of King Charles II. Camilla will also be crowned during proceedings at Westminster Abbey
Will Charles have a coronation medal?
Previous tradition has seen monarchs awarded a medal following their coronation.
Medals have also been given to members of the Firm, which include other royals, government officials and members of the Armed Forces.
The exact release date of the commemorative medal to the mark the occasion is unclear.
It is expected to be handed out after the coronation in May, rather than during the ceremony itself.
In addition, Armed Forces charity AWARD recently said it would issue its own commemorative medal to mark the event.
A notice about the medal on the AWARD website reads: ‘Available to all veterans who served the crown and those who are currently serving members of the Armed Forces, Emergency Services personnel (paid, retained or voluntary), Prison Service, Police Community Support Officers, holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross and members of the Royal Household.
‘Next of kin and direct descendants may also apply.’
What will the coronation medal look like?
The design of the coronation medal is not yet known, but it is anticipated to be revealed soon.
However, the design and features of the AWARD commemorative medal are available to view.
A description of that medal reads: ‘The obverse of the highly polished medal depicts The Crown, The Orb and The Sceptre, symbols of the monarchy surrounded by the wording THE CORONATION OF HIS MAJESTY CHARLES III and the date 6th MAY 2023.
‘On the reverse the stylishly designed Charles III cypher is surrounded by the wording PROTECTOR OF ALL FAITHS to reflect the King`s desire to protect the free practise of all faiths in this country and the date of the coronation.’
Did the Queen get a coronation medal?
When crowned in 1953, having ascended to the throne the year prior, Queen Elizabeth II did receive a coronation medal to mark the occasion.
As well being given to Firm members, her medal was specially issued to the 37 members of the 1953 Mount Everest expedition, who reached its summit four days before the Queen’s coronation.
The medal did not feature any wording, apart from those issued to expedition members, which were specially engraved with the words ‘Mount Everest Expedition’.
Designed by British sculptor Cecil Thomas, the medal is formed on a silver disc, measuring 1.25 inches in diameter.
Medals have also been issued to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, Golden Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee.
Will there be a Bank Holiday?
As part of the celebrations to mark the coronation of King Charles III, members of the public will get an extra day off over the coronation weekend.
The Government has declared a Bank Holiday will be in place for Monday, 8 May, 2023, giving Brits an extra day off to mark the occasion.
Is there a coronation concert?
Part of the celebrations for Charles’ coronation, a coronation concert will be held on the evening of Sunday, 7 May.
First the time, the grounds of Windsor Castle will be used for such an occasion, with a stage set to be erected on the East Lawn of the royal residence.
Which artists will be performing at the coronation concert?
The official lineup has not yet been revealed, but it has been reported that Lionel Ritchie could open proceedings, with Bette Midler also rumoured to feature.
Andrew Lloyd Webber, who played as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations last year, has also been tipped to make an appearance.
The star-studded coronation concert will be held at Windsor Castle on Sunday, 7 May, 2023, with Lionel Ritchie potentially part of the lineup
Are King Charles coronation concert tickets still available?
The public ballot to purchase tickets for the concert has now closed.
10,000 members of the public who did apply will be informed if they have been successful by the end of April.
The remaining tickets will be split between charities of Charles and Camilla, organisations supporting young people, the military, the environment, local communities and the Commonwealth.
How many guests are invited to the coronation?
With Charles now the reigning monarch, Prince William is now heir to the throne. As a result, he and Princess Catherine are set to play an important part in the ceremony.
Prince George has been handed a notable role in the ceremony, as one of Charles’ four Pages of Honour.
George will be required to carry the King’s robes alongside three other Pages of Honour – schoolboys Lord Oliver Cholmondeley, 13, Nicholas Barclay, 13, and Ralph Tollemache, 12. All three are sons of His Majesty’s friends.
Because she is being crowned as Queen, Camilla has made her three grandsons – twins Gus and Louis Lopes, 13, and Freddy Parker Bowles, 12, as well as her great-nephew, Arthur Elliot, 11 – Pages of Honour.
Which other royal families are attending?
Heads of state and representatives from a number of key British allies and Commonwealth nations are expected to be part of the guest list for the coronation.
Heads of state from Ireland, France, Spain, Belgium, Japan, Hungary and Monaco will be at the coronation.
All three presidents of the European Union – Ursula von der Leyen, Roberta Metsola and Charles Michel – will attend.
Andrzej Duda, the current president of Poland, was the first head of state to be confirmed as attending the event.
Which MPs are going to the coronation?
After initial plans to invite just 20 MPs provoked outrage in Westminster, those numbers have more than doubled, according to reports.
Additional spots will be reserved for former prime ministers, Cabinet ministers and a select number of Privy Council members. 400 extra tickets have been created for MPs, as they will be allowed to stand in a cordoned-off area in Parliament Square.
Another event will give more MPs the chance to meet the King, in the form of a special reception in Westminster Hall. This will take place on Tuesday, 2 May, 2023 with the King in attendance.
US President Joe Biden will not attend the coronation of King Charles III, with First Lady Jill Biden set to be present instead
Will Joe Biden be there?
Current US President Joe Biden will not be attending the event, in line with previous American policy to skip such occasions.
Dwight D. Eisenhower – who was serving as US President at the time of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 – did not attend the event, but a US delegation was sent.
In similar fashion, current First Lady Jill Biden will attend the event in place of her husband.
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