Everything you need to know about King Charles' coronation today
It's the UK's first coronation in 70 years
Today King Charles is crowned at his coronation in Westminster Abbey, the first coronation in the UK for over 70 years.
Here's a guide to everything that's happening today.
The King's procession to Westminster Abbey
Beginning at 10.20am, the first official part of the coronation that we'll see today is 'the King's procession' from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.
King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla will travel in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach along The Mall and down Whitehall before arriving at Westminster Abbey for the ceremony itself.
The coach will be accompanied by around 200 members of the armed forces but the 1.4 mile route will also have 1,000 members of military in position either side of it.
The procession should reach the Abbey just before 11am.
The Coronation ceremony
Around 11 o'clock the King will enter Westminster Abbey through the Great West Door and proceed through the Abbey with faith leaders, prime ministers, governors and representatives of Commonwealth countries.
The service will last around two hours and is in several parts for the King, with an additional section to crown the Queen Consort.
Here's the order of the coronation ceremony:
The recognition
The first part of the service is 'The recognition' where the King is presented to the people and proclaimed the "undoubted King."
The oath
After the recognition the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will ask King Charles to take the Coronation Oath.
King Charles will promise to uphold the law and the Church in his oath.
The anointing
Sitting in the 700-year-old Coronation chair KIng Charles will be anointed with special oil from a flask called the Ampulla.
This is the most sacred part of the coronation and will be performed behind a screen.
The investiture
This is the moment the King will be crowned, St Edward's Crown placed on his head by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The King will also be given the Coronation ring, the Sovereign's Sceptres and the Sovereign's Orb.
After this the bells of the Abbey will be rung for two minutes and gun salutes will go off across the country.
The enthronement
The last part of the ceremony for King Charles will be to sit in the throne.
Prince William will then kneel and pay homage to the King.
Queen Camilla
After King Charles' part is done The Queen Consort Camilla will be anointed, crowned with Queen Mary's Crown and enthroned in a similar way to The King, although in a much simpler fashion.
Both the King and Queen will take Holy Communion before the service ends.
Who will be attending the coronation?
Family and friends of the King and Queen Consort, foreign monarchs, politicians, world leaders, celebrities and everyday heroes will attend the service.
The Duke of Sussex will be attending although the Duchess of Sussex is remaining in LA to be with Prince Archie on his birthday.
Nine-year-old Prince George will become the youngest future king to play an official role at a coronation after being named one of his grandfather’s four Pages of Honour.
As well as politicians and royalty, there will be some celebrities - both Ant & Dec have been invited as well as The Repair Shop's Jay Blades.
More than 850 community and charity representatives from across the UK have also been invited.
The Coronation procession
After the ceremony is done at around 1pm the King and Queen will use the 260-year-old Gold State Coach to process back to Buckingham Palace.
It's thought the Prince and Princess of Wales and other members of the Royal Family will follow in carriages.
Alongside the Royal Family in the procession will be representatives from Commonwealth countries and 4,000 members of the UK's armed forces.
The Balcony wave and the flypast
At 2.30pm the King and Queen will wave to the crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
It's likely that other members of the Royal family will join them, but it's not yet known who will appear.
The last public event of the day will be a fly-past involving the Army, RAF, Royal Navy and the Red Arrows.
A weekend of celebrations
While Charles's coronation takes place today there are more days of celebration across the three-day weekend.
Sunday will see a huge coronation concert take place at Windsor Castle with a line-up including Take That, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Andrea Bocelli and Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel.
People are also being invited to gather together for a “coronation big lunch” on Sunday,
Monday, a bank holiday, has been set aside for volunteering and is being billed as “the big help out”.
King Charles in pictures
King Charles is born (1948)
Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor was born to then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip on November 14th, 1948, as the couple's first child.
King Charles in 1952
When his grandfather George VI died and his mother ascended to the throne in 1952, Charles became the future heir of the monarchy at the age of four.
He also became the Duke of Cornwall. When he was 21, in 1969, he became entitled to the full income of the Duchy and took over its management.
Charles' childhood
Growing up, Charles went to a boarding school for his education, studying at Gordonstoun private school in the north-east of Scotland.
Charles' experience at the school helped to shape him, saying in an interview that he was glad to have attended.
King Charles at university
After finishing his A-Levels, Charles broke with royal tradition and went straight to university, where he obtained a 2:2 in a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Cambridge in 1970. This made Charles the first British heir to attain a university degree.
Investiture of the Prince of Wales
In 1969, the Investiture of the Prince of Wales took place at Caernarfon Castle, where Charles was crowned by the Queen as the Prince of Wales.
King Charles in the Navy
King Charles served in the Navy between 1971 to 1976. He trained as a Royal Air Force pilot and served on the frigate HMS Jupiter as part of its Pacific voyage.
King Charles and Diana (1981)
In 1981, Prince Charles married Diana Spencer in the most-watched television event at the time. Over 1 billion people looked on as the Prince and Princess of Wales made their wedding vows.
The marriage birthed Charles' only children - William and Harry, but would end in tragedy as the couple would divorce in 1992. Princess Diana would later die in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
Prince William's first day at Eton College
The King and Princess of Wales and brother Prince Harry join Prince William for his first day at Eton College in September 1995.
Assassination attempt
Following his divorce from Diana, Charles continued to carry out royal duties. Whilst on a tour of Australia in 1994, King Charles was shot at twice by student David Kang.
David Kang was protesting about the treatment of Cambodian asylum seekers in Australia. Charles was not hurt and managed to dodge the bullet.
King Charles and Camilla
King Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005, 13 years after his divorce from Diana. Because this was Charles' second marriage, he was unable to get married in a church and instead held a civil wedding. Charles' parents did not attend the ceremony, due to the Queen's role as head of the Church of England. Following their marriage, Camilla would go on to receive the title of 'Duchess of Cornwall'.
Media presence
Prince Charles has kept his life relatively private following his marriage to Camilla. The Prince rarely spoke to newspapers and occasionally appeared on television, in order to maintain his privacy.
However, Charles has tried his hand at a number of positions, including presenting the weather for BBC Scotland while on a trip to Glasgow in 2012.
Charity work
Over 40 years Prince Charles has set up 20 charities, he has been a keen supporter of charity work, setting up the Prince's Trust in 1976 to help vulnerable people get their life back on track.
Since then, Charles has been a vocal supporter of human rights, calling for more action against abuse worldwide. Most recently, the Prince commissioned a series of portraits of seven Holocaust survivors in early 2022.
King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort
Following the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II, Charles immediately became King Charles III on 8th September.
In the days following his mother's death, he met members of the public with his wife Camilla, now Queen Consort.
On 10th September, an historic meeting at St James' Palace confirmed his role of King.
King Charles III delivers his first address to parliament
King Charles said he felt "the weight of history" as he addressed parliament for the first time as King, adding he vowed to follow the example set by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
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