Details of King Charles’ Coronation procession have been revealed, with the monarch and Queen Consort Camilla travelling in the late Queen’s Diamond Jubilee State Coach on the morning of Saturday 6 May.
Royalists will get the first glimpse of the royals in the carriage, which will be drawn by six Windsor grey horses, and topped with a gilded crown carved from oak from HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Buckingham Palace has also confirmed that The King’s Coronation 1.3 mile procession journey will be significantly shorter than that of his mother’s, which covered five miles.
The shorter procession has sparked fears that many royal well-wishers may miss out on catching a glimpse of their Majesties, meaning larger crowds are expected to line the route to be in with a chance of seeing the King.
The King and Queen Consort will be accompanied on their procession by The Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry, leaving Buckingham Palace through the Centre Gate, and proceeding down The Mall, along the south side of Trafalgar Square, then traversing via Whitehall and along Parliament Street, to arrive at Westminster Abbey ahead of the 11am Coronation Service.
After the ceremony, the couple will reverse the journey, travelling back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach, last used during the Pageant of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in June last year. The Gold State Coach has been used at every Coronation since that of William IV in 1831.
Martin Oates, senior carriage restorer at the Royal Mews, will walk behind the carriage in the procession and will be responsible for pulling the hand-held T-bar at the back to secure it in place when it halts. He said: “When you’re following it, you can hear it creaking, so it sounds like an old galleon going along. It’s not quite a washing machine, but where other vehicles just go from back to front, this is moving from side to side.”
On their return to Buckingham Palace, the king and queen will receive a royal salute from the UK and Commonwealth armed forces on parade that day. They will take the salute from the west terrace of the Buckingham Palace garden. It will be followed by three cheers from the assembled service personnel for the new king and queen.
