Where to watch the King's coronation: Procession route map and timings
Spectators eager to watch the King's coronation procession are being urged to find their spot along the route early, as huge crowds are expected for the historic event.Thousands are likely to line the streets of London and Windsor to watch the spectacle on Saturday, May 6.
Viewing spots along the procession route are not ticketed and will be open to the public on a first-come first-served basis.
For full updates on the coronation throughout the day, click here
Members of the public have been advised spots will fill quickly, and some spectators have already been camping overnight for days in the hope of getting a front seat to history.
Best coronation procession viewing spots
Outside Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey - where the procession will begin and end
The Mall
Horse Guards Parade
Trafalgar Square
Whitehall
Parliament Square
When will public be able to see the King and Queen Consort?The King and Queen Consort will travel from Buckingham Palace in the King's procession to Westminster Abbey in the morning.
Viewing areas along the procession route will open from 6am.
The King and Queen Consort’s procession will set off from Buckingham Palace at 10.20am and arrive at Westminster Abbey by 10.53am.
What route will the King and Queen consort take?
In a break from tradition, the King and Camilla will travel in a shorter procession route than the late Queen Elizabeth II's five-mile celebratory journey for her coronation more than seven decades ago.
They will travel in the modern Diamond Jubilee State Coach in a 1.3 mile journey down The Mall via Admiralty Arch.
They will then travel along the south side of Trafalgar Square, before heading down Whitehall and Parliament Street.
The procession will continue around the east and south sides of Parliament Square to Broad Sanctuary, before they finally arrive at Westminster Abbey.
What time will the King be crowned?The King and Queen Consort will then be crowned at Westminster Abbey, in a service beginning at 11am.
The service will last for two hours. The historic moment of the King's crowning will take place at midday, and Camilla will also be crowned.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will place the St Edward’s Crown on Charles’s head. Trumpets will sound and gun salutes will be fired across the UK.
The service will include the first Homage of the People – a modern addition to the ancient ceremony. People across the UK and overseas realms will be invited to swear an oath of allegiance to Charles.
The request for the public to take the oath is not mandatory, as the Archbishop of Canterbury has explained.
The monarchs will then take the older Gold State Coach back toward Buckingham Palace in the return procession, following the same route as the outward journey.Other members of the royal family and thousands of troops will join the much larger ceremonial procession - known as “the coronation procession.”
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 able to be seen being joined by other members of the royal family to watch a flypast at around 2.15pm.
Where will the coronation big screens be located?
Big screens will be placed in royal parks including in 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 (DCMS).
See the full list of big screen locations here.
Will there be any coronation protests?Some anti-monarchy demonstrations are planned on the day, as the King's coronation refuels an ongoing republican debate.
A protest organised by the Republic campaign group is expected to take place from 11am to 6pm in central London, when demonstrators march from Parliament Square to Downing Street.
Demonstrations are also likely in other parts of the UK.
How to attend the Coronation Concert
The Coronation Concert will take place in the grounds of Windsor Castle on Sunday.
Celebrities and performers will join in a show of celebration. Members of the public who obtained tickets via ballot will join volunteers from the King and Queen Consort’s various charities in the audience.
Katy Perry, Take That and Lionel Richie are among the stars confirmed to perform at the show, hosted by Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville.
Throughout the performance iconic locations across the UK will be lit up using projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations.
Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff will be dazzled with light shows.
The concert will be broadcast live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds from 8pm.
It will also be shown on big screens in St James’s Park and at various screenings in London.
An accessible viewing space will be in place along the north side of The Mall.
Listen to ITV News podcast The Royal Rota
Travel information for coronation day
Roads
There will be road closures in place across Central London to prepare for the coronation across central London, and Transport for London (TfL) warns increased traffic and large crowds are expected.
National Highways announced will lift more than 700 miles of roadworks on England’s motorways and major A roads ahead of the coronation weekend, including on routes expected to be used by thousands of people driving to London for the occasion.
Eleven miles of roadworks will be lifted on the M1 around Hemel Hempstead and Dunstable, and 12.5 miles on the M11 around Cambridge and Harlow.
Cones will be removed in the South East by 6am on May 4 and elsewhere across England by 6am the following day. They will not be put back until after the Monday bank holiday.
The RAC predicts around 14.6 million motorists will hit the road for the coronation weekend.It expects far fewer journeys than the early May bank holiday weekend's estimates, as millions of people likely stay home to watch the royal events on television.The RAC is urging drivers to check tyres, oil and coolant levels as a priority before they hit the road for their bank holiday journeys to avoid disappointment.
People are also being urged to check information on any coronation street party road closures with their local authorities, in case they need to plan alternative routes.
For instance, in Hammersmith, in West London, King Street will be closed between 11am and 6pm for a coronation street party.
Train services
Extra train services are being laid on for the King’s coronation weekend.
There are no planned engineering work affecting lines serving London on Saturday, May 6.
Great Western Railway said it will run some “very early” additional services to London Paddington from major stations in south Wales, south-west England and the Thames Valley area on Saturday.
It will also operate an “enhanced service” between Windsor and Slough on May 7 and the early hours of May 8 for Coronation Concert-goers.
South Western Railway said it will run its usual timetable on the day of the coronation service, but there will be additional trains between London Waterloo and Windsor for the concert.
On May 6, Southeastern will run additional trains between Dartford and London Charing Cross, and longer trains on the Maidstone East Line and between London Victoria and Gillingham.
Govia Thameslink Railway – which operates Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink – said some of its services will have more carriages than normal.
Tube services
There will be no planned engineering works causing line closures during the bank holiday weekend, TfL says.
Andy Lord, London’s transport commissioner, said "public transport remains the best way to travel in London during the coronation weekend."
However TfL is warning its services may be “very busy” at “key transport interchanges” such as Tube stations around Westminster, and those with connections to mainline trains.
If it gets too busy, TfL may enact temporary measures such as Tube station closures or changes to the way people enter and leave stations.
Meanwhile, TfL's roundel logo has been re-designed as a 'crowndel' to celebrate the coronation.
The crowndels feature a likeness of St Edward’s Crown, which will be used to crown the King at Westminster Abbey.
They have gone on display at several central London Tube stations, as well as some Elizabeth line and London Overground stations.
Buses
Some roads in Westminster will be closed, affecting several bus routes.Five London buses will also feature commemorative wraps on routes serving locations linked to the royal family, such as Horse Guards Parade and Hyde Park.
Passengers travelling on the upper deck of buses on Oxford Street will be able to spot crowns installed on top of three bus shelters.
Twenty hire bikes in TfL’s Santander Cycles scheme will also feature special wraps to mark the coronation.
Flights
Heathrow has insisted passengers will be able to travel “as normal” during the King’s coronation despite the airport's security guards' strike.
About 1,400 airport security guards are set to stage another strike in their series of walkouts in their dispute over pay, including during the coronation weekend.
The airport said “robust contingency plans kept the airport running smoothly” throughout the Easter break in spite of the walkouts during, and would during the coronation bank holiday too.
What's next after the coronation?
Following the big day, thousands of street parties are expected to be held over the special bank holiday weekend. People are being encouraged to come together across the country for the Coronation Big Lunch on Sunday.
Revellers are being encouraged to bake a coronation quiche - a spinach and broadbean take on the traditional French pastry - to celebrate. You can find the recipe here.
Monday, May 8, will be a bank holiday, as the UK gets an extra day off to celebrate the King's coronation.
Volunteers are being urged to use the day off to take part in The Big Help Out to mark the coronation.
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