New details about coronation released – including who will get front row seat at palace
King Charles is giving veterans and NHS workers a prime viewing spot for his coronation, in what is set to be the largest ceremonial military operation in 70 years.
More than 6,000 men and women from the UK’s Armed Forces will take part in the historic royal event.
Read more: The ultimate guide to the King’s coronation
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
King’s coronation route revealed
Sailors, soldiers and aviators will accompany the King and Queen Consort to and from Westminster Abbey, where the coronation service will take place on 6 May.
Nearly 400 personnel from at least 35 Commonwealth countries will also be on parade to mark the milestone.
Later in the day, military personnel will conduct a six-minute flypast of more than 60 aircraft from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force – flying over The Mall in central London.
Featured among the aerial procession will be aircraft that have delivered support to Ukraine, policed NATO airspace, supported disaster relief, deterred drug trafficking and countered terrorism in the Middle East and Africa.
A front-row seat to the royal procession
Meanwhile, veterans and NHS workers will be seated in 3,800 seats in a specially built grandstand in front of Buckingham Palace.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said the seats have been offered to these public servants “as a mark of the nation’s profound gratitude”.
Representatives of charitable organisations with links to the Royal Family will also be offered seats, while another 354 uniformed cadet forces will be given the chance to watch the coronation procession at Admiralty Arch.
The coveted spots mean they will get a special view of key moments including the processions, the appearance of the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony, and the Armed Forces flypast.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Harry at coronation without Meghan
They will also get to see the King and Queen Consort travel from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach drawn by six Windsor Grey horses, accompanied by The Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
The royal couple will travel back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach.
Invites from the Royal British Legion and individuals or organisations that have contributed to the government’s Veterans Strategy have gone out to the veterans who will be at the Buckingham Palace site.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Royal Mint reveals coronation range
Where can you watch the day’s events?
London is expected to be packed with royal fans and big screens across the major parks, so the public can follow the ceremony live.
More than 57 locations across the UK will have big screens enabling over 100,000 people to watch in their hometowns, according to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
Screens in St James’s Park will also show the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle on 7 May.
Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts
Take That, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie are among musical acts on the “world-class” line-up.
The DCMS said there will be an accessible viewing space along the north side of The Mall and at all screen sites in London.
Accessible viewing spaces for the people watching the concert on the big screen at St James’s Park are also available.
UK
Epping council demands government ‘immediately’ close asylum hotel – as Home Office works to ‘restore order’
Epping council has unanimously voted to urge the government to shut a hotel housing asylum seekers after a series of protests.
Epping Forest District Council in Essex passed a motion calling for the Bell Hotel to be “immediately and permanently” closed “for the purposes of asylum processing”.
Several demonstrations have been held outside the hotel since 13 July, after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl.
Police have arrested 18 people and charged nine in connection with the protests.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Eight officers injured during migrant protest
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, denied sexually assaulting the 14-year-old girl at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court last week and will stand trial in August.
The Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has also reportedly urged the home secretary to review the use of the hotel for housing asylum seekers.
In a letter to Yvette Cooper, Roger Hirst said the hotel is unsuitable for housing migrants and is “clearly creating community tension”, the Telegraph reported.
Protests in Epping turned violent last week
Home Office ‘working to restore order’
The Home Office has vowed to “restore order,” threatening on Friday to make asylum seekers homeless if they refuse a change of accommodation.
Read more:
Epping: ‘Everyone’s on edge’
Epping the latest flashpoint of frustration
It said a new “failure to travel” policy is looking to tackle “non-compliance by asylum seekers” and will ensure individuals who are moved from hotels to suitable alternative accommodation must take it.
Those who refuse to move without a valid reason will now risk losing their housing and support, the Home Office said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Epping migration protest in focus
Dame Angela Eagle, minister for border security and asylum, said: “We are working to close hotels, restore order, and put fairness and value for money at the heart of our asylum system.
“This government is making those necessary decisions to protect the taxpayer and uphold the integrity of our borders.”
Asked specifically about the Epping Forest District Council vote, the Home Office said: “We’ll continue to work closely with local police and community partners, in Epping and across the country, as we fix this broken system.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Eight officers injured
Protests outside the Bell Hotel last Thursday began peacefully but escalated into what police described as “scattered incidents of violence,” leaving eight officers injured.
Police are braced for further protests, vowing to act swiftly if unrest spreads.
UK
There were ‘failings’ in care of ex-England cricketer Graham Thorpe in months before he died, coroner says
The actor who played PC Reg Hollis in hit TV series The Bill has been praised by officers after helping them arrest a shoplifter.
Jeff Stewart stepped in when a thief attempted to escape on a bicycle in Southampton on Wednesday.
In a statement, a Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: “The thief, 29-year-old Mohamed Diallo, fell off the bike during his attempts to flee, before officers pounced to make their arrest.
“To their surprise, local TV legend Jeff Stewart, who played PC Hollis for 24 years in The Bill, came to their aid by sitting on the suspect’s legs while officers put him in cuffs.
(L-R) Jeff Stewart, Roberta Taylor, Mark Wingett, Trudie Goodwin and Cyril Nri celebrating The Bill’s 21st anniversary in 2004. Pic: PA
“In policing you should always expect the unexpected, but this really wasn’t on The Bill for this week.”
The Bill was broadcast on ITV between 1984 and 2010 and featured the fictional lives of police officers from the Sun Hill police station in east London.
Mr Stewart, who was among the original cast, appeared in more than 1,000 episodes as PC Hollis.
Police released footage showing their pursuit of a shoplifter in Southampton. Pic: Hampshire Constabulary
As the suspect falls to the floor, PC Hollis (aka Jeff Stewart) sits on his legs. Pic: Hampshire Constabulary
In praising Mr Stewart’s actions, the force said: “Long since retired from Sun Hill station – but he’s still got it.”
Police from the Bargate Neighbourhoods Policing Team were alerted by staff at a Co-op store in Ocean Way to a suspected shoplifter on Wednesday.
Read more from Sky News:
Hungary bans rappers Kneecap
Tributes paid to Hulk Hogan
Mohamed Diallo, 29, of Anglesea Road, Southampton, was subsequently charged with five offences of theft relating to coffee, alcohol and food from the Co-op and two other Sainsbury’s stores on three dates in April and July.
He pleaded guilty at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and was bailed to be sentenced on August 29.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike