Big Help Out: Royals get involved in day of volunteering on coronation bank holiday

Prince Louis, five, took part in his first official engagement as his grandfather King Charles called on the nation to create a legacy of volunteering, ITV News' Geraint Vincent reports

Festivities continued through the Monday bank holiday to celebrate the coronation with a volunteering drive the King hopes will become part of his legacy.

The King and Queen did not appear publicly on Monday - the day of the Big Help Out - in which an estimated 6 million people took part in.

Other royals were out and about, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, who took part in efforts to improve the 3rd Upton Scouts Hut, in Slough.

Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, all got stuck into the engagement, which was revealed to be the first the latter has officially taken part in.

Across the UK first-time volunteers did their bit as more than 30,000 organisations took part in King Charles' Big Help Out project, ITV News' Rachel Townsend reports

When the Prince of Wales took control of a digger, Louis sat in his father’s lap as William moved the mechanical arm and grabbed a bucket full of soil before dumping it on a spoil heap.

Later, Prince Louis was given the task of filling a wheelbarrow with what looked like builders’ sand and he focused on the job, diligently shovelling the material before wheeling the barrow himself.

George was allowed to use a drill and concentrated as he worked making a hole in a piece of wood.

Charlotte was spotted painting what appeared to be doors and Louis tried his hand at interior decorating, making hand prints on a wall under the direction of the Princess of Wales.

The young royals got a reward for their hard work, toasting marshmallows over a barbecue, and then tried their hand at archery.

Elsewhere, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester visited the Coptic Orthodox Church, in London, where young volunteers hosted a coronation street party.

At the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association Training Centre, in Reading, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh took part in a puppy class.

The Big Help Out day is organised by The Together Coalition and partners such as The Scouts, the Royal Voluntary Service and faith groups from across the United Kingdom.

Some 55,123 events were due to take place, created by 33,228 grassroots and community organisations. Faith communities and activists played a key role as events involving Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and other groups took place across the country.

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The aim of the day is to highlight the positive impact which volunteering has on communities, and to encourage people to try volunteering for themselves to create a lasting legacy.

The public have been encouraged to take up hundreds of thousands of volunteering roles on the extra bank holiday with more than 1,500 charities involved.

An app has been created to allow people to search for volunteering opportunities, ranging from helping the elderly to working with environmental charities and supporting animal welfare.

Camilla is patron of the Royal Voluntary Service charity and has been patron of the Big Lunch initiative since 2013.

Elsewhere, diners at lunch club at the Mill End Community Centre in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, were served lamb casserole and wine by “special guests” Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty. Mr Sunak and Ms Murty chopped parsnips and strawberries in the kitchen in black aprons before joining the room in a toast which ended in the group saying “long live the King” and giving three cheers. Ahead of the day, Mr Sunak said: “I hope that as part of the legacy of this historic moment of national unity, people will be inspired for years to volunteer, to help out and to make a difference to others around them.” In a post on Twitter, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he had participated by “supporting those who would otherwise be alone today”.

Justin Welby donned a denim Bon Jovi apron as he served lunch at homeless charity Catching Lives in Canterbury, while the Archbishop of York helped out at a Trussell Trust food bank at St Joseph’s Church in York. And SNP leader Mr Yousaf visited Whitfield Community Larder in Dundee, bringing with him a donation of nappies at the request of staff. Matt Hyde, chief executive of the Scouts, said: “The public response to the Big Help Out has shown the huge scale of the public’s desire to help out in their local neighbourhoods. “We don’t want this to stop just because the coronation is over. This has to be just the beginning.” Catherine Johnstone, chief executive of the Royal Voluntary Service, added: “The response has been amazing and confirms that we need to continue to make it easier for members of the public to get involved. “Volunteers run our food banks, our youth clubs, our football clubs, they are the glue that binds our communities together.”

The extra bank holiday capped off a long weekend of celebrations.

On Sunday night, Charles and Camilla attended a star-studded coronation concert at Windsor Castle, featuring actors, singers and entertainers - and Kermit the Frog who managed to gatecrash the royal box.

Take That, billed as pop "royalty", Katy Perry and Lionel Richie brought the house down and got the royal family on their feet and dancing - including Charles and Camilla - during the 95-minute extravaganza.

The Prince of Wales gave the most passionate tribute of the night, telling his father before 20,000 spectators: "Pa, we are all so proud of you."

The concert, hosted by Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville, saw the King’s life celebrated, from his service in the Armed Forces to his passion for the arts and his charitable work.

Footage from Charles’ life was shown during the tributes from celebrities, who included actors Hugh Jack and Pierce Brosnan, former Strictly Come Dancing dancer Oti Mabuse and adventurer Bear Grylls.

A host of celebrities recorded messages for Charles or highlighted little-known facts, while Hollywood star Tom Cruise delivered his pre-recorded tribute while at the controls of his Top Gun Warbird plane.

Highlighting the fact that Charles was qualified as a helicopter pilot, he said: "Pilot to pilot, Your Majesty, you can be my wingman any time", before saluting and banking off.

The King’s lifelong connection to the skies was also marked in Bedford on Sunday with the de Havilland Chipmunk WP903 in which he learned to fly in 1969 taking part in the King and Country Air Show at Shuttleworth aerodrome.

The 70-year-old fire-engine red single-engined primary trainer aircraft delighted crowds as it took to the sky, alongside a host of other vintage military aeroplanes.

Built in 1952, the tandem, two-seat aircraft served with the RAF Queen’s Flight before it was used to teach the young Charles to fly at RAF Tangmere, while he was a student at Cambridge University in 1969.

The future King flew solo for the first time in the plane at RAF Bassingbourn on January 14 1969, before being awarded his private pilot’s licence in March 1969 and his RAF preliminary flying badge on August 2.

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