LET THE CELEBRATION

BY DANIEL MORRIS

Abalcony appearance at Buckingham Palace, aconcert featuring global starsand a d day of volunteering will all form part of celebrations for the King’s coronation.

Saturday, May 6

The coronation of the King and Queen will take place at Westminster Abbey on the Saturday morning, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury

According to thepalace it will be “a solemn religious service, as well as an occasion for celebration and pageantry”.

The service will “reflect the monarchh’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry”.

Charles and the Queen Consort will travel in ashorter procession route than the late Elizabeth II and break with tradition by only using the elaborate

260-year-old Gold State Coach one way on their return

The monarch and Camilla have personally decided to make the 1.3 mile outward journey –known as the King’s Procession –from Buckingham Palace in the more modern, comfortable Diamond Jubilee State Coach, which has shock absorbers, heating and air conditioning

They will travel, accompanied by The Sovereign’s Escortofthe Household Cavalry,down The Mall via Admiralty Arch, along the south side of Trafalgar Square, along Whitehall and Parliament Street, around the east and south sides of Parliament Square to Broad Sanctuary to arrive at theAbbey.

The coronation service will begin at 11am.

The priceless array ofcoronation regalia from the Crown Jewels which will be used during the service will include the Sovereign’s Orb, the Golden Spurs, bracelets known as Armills, two maces, five symbolic swords, theSovereign’s Ring, the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross and the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Dove.

Charles will be crowned with the 17th century St Edward’s Crown which has been resized to fithis head. He will switch it for the lighter Imperial State Crown at the end of the ceremony as is thecustom.

Camillawill be crowned with the modified Queen Mary’s Crown.

After the service, the King and Queen will return to the palace in a larger ceremonial procession –known as theCoronation Procession. This will feature acastofhundreds of members of the Armed Forces from the UK, Commonwealth and the British Overseas Territories, as well as the Sovereign’s Bodyguard and Royal Watermen. At the palace, Charles and Camilla will be joined by family members on the balcony to conclude the day’s ceremonial events.

Sunday, May 7

Sunday will see “global music icons and contemporary stars” descend on Windsor Castle for the coronation concert which will be broadcast live on theBBC

Several thousand members of the public were selected to receive apair of free tickets through anational ballot held by the BBC.

The audience will also include volunteers from the King and Queen’s charity affiliations.

The show will feature aworld-class orchestra playing interpretations of musical favourites fronted by “some of the world’s biggest entertainers,alongside performers from the world of dance”, the palace said.

The performances will be supported by staging and effects located on the castle’s east lawn andwill also include aselection of spoken word sequences delivered by stars of stage and screen.

The Coronation Choir,a diverse group created from the keenest community choirs andamateur singers from across the UK (such as refugee choirs, NHS choirs, LGBTQ+singing groups and deaf signing choirs), will also make an appearance.

The Coronation Choir will appear alongside The Virtual Choir,made up of singers from across the Commonwealth, for aspecial performance on thenight.

The palace said the centrepiece of the coronation concert, dubbed “lighting up the nation”, will see the country join together in celebration as landmarks across the UK arelit up using projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations.

Meanwhile, people are invited to gather for a“coronation big lunch” on Sunday,overseen and organised by the Big Lunch team at the Eden Project.

Monday, May 8

Monday,a bank holiday,has been set aside for volunteering and is being billed as “the big help out”.

Organised by The Together Coalition and awide range of partners such as The Scouts, the Royal Voluntary Service and faith groups from across the UK, the big help out aims to highlight the positive impact volunteering has on communities.

The palace said in tribute to the King’s public service, the big help out “will encourage people to try volunteering for themselves and join thework being undertaken to support their local areas”.

The aim of the day is to use volunteering to bring communities together and createa lasting volunteering legacy from the coronation weekend. Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said the coronation is “a huge milestone in the history of the UK and Commonwealth”, adding that the weekend of events will bring people together to celebrate “the mixture of tradition and modernity,culture and community that makes our country great”.

GODSAVETHE KING