How to Get Involved and the Itinerary for the King's Coronation Weekend
Make sure you don't miss a thing over the packed Coronation weekend
There’ll be events across the country, a concert at Windsor Castle, and of course the main event at Westminster Abbey
Saturday 6th May
The Coronation of The King and The Queen Consort
The King and The Queen Consort will travel in ‘The King’s Procession’ from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey (setting off at 10.30am), and the service (which starts at 11am) will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The ceremony will include plenty of music chosen by the King, including some new commissions. It’s a solemn ceremony rooted in longstanding tradition and pageantry, which has remained largely unchanged for more than 1,000 years.
The service is expected to last almost two hours, so it will be around 1pm when Their Majesties will return to the Palace in ‘The Coronation Procession’. This is the big one, and they’ll be joined by other members of the Royal Family for this journey, as well as by around 4,000 members of the armed forces. The King and Queen will travel in the Gold State Coach, which has been used at every coronation since 1831.
Once they all arrive at Buckingham Palace, we can look forward to an appearance on the Palace balcony to end the day.
If you don’t want to stay at home, but still want to watch, there’ll be big screens in various locations across the region, including Northumberland, Newcastle, Sunderland, Darlington, Hull, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Sheffield.
Sunday 7th May
The Coronation Big Lunch
Neighbours and communities are encouraged to share food, fun and celebrations together.
Head to edenprojectcommunities.com/the-big-lunch to find out how you can join in by hosting a Big Lunch, add your Big Lunch to their map, or find out where your nearest public event is. There are already public community events planned in Kingston Park, Sacriston, Newton Aycliffe, Market Weighton, Cayton and Leeds (as well as smaller events across the region) and more are being added all the time.
The Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle
Thousands of tickets were allocated through a public ballot, but if you’re staying at home the whole thing will be live on the BBC. Iconic locations across the UK will be lit up using projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations. Megastars including Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Take That (well, three of them anyway) are set to perform at the concert, which starts at 8pm.
Monday 8th May
The Big Help Out
On the special Bank Holiday Monday, we’re all encouraged to get involved in The Big Help Out, to try volunteering for ourselves and join in the work being done to support our local areas. Go to thebighelpout.org.uk to find out more.
Plans are being made to Ring for the King at the Coronation of King Charles III
For hundreds of years church bells have rung out to celebrate special occasions and to signify special events such as Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in June last year. Bells also rang out with a muffled sound throughout the nation as a mark of respect at her passing in September.
Following the announcement of King Charles’ Coronation, the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers initiated an appeal to recruit more ringers to be trained in time to Ring for the King. Find out more at ringfortheking.org.
