Snipers on rooftops, air cover and facial recognition technology are among security measures in place for Operation Golden Orb – the security effort for the coronation.
It’s all being coordinated on the day from a bomb-proof basement across the Thames from Westminster Abbey.
Along with more than 11,000 police, it’s intended to provide iron-clad protection for the King’s big day.
Tactical firearms units with Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machineguns and Glock 17 pistols will be on patrol, and there will be armed response vehicles on standby.
Meanwhile, spotters will take up position on rooftops alongside officers with sniper rifles.
Senior officers also plan to use facial recognition tech for the first time to identify terror suspects and criminals who may attempt to mix with the crowd.
However, much of the work has been done in the weeks building up to the event, with MI5 focusing surveillance on “subjects of interest” who have shown an interest in the Royal Family.
Image: Police officers on horses patrol on Wednesday
Air cover will be provided by three twin-engine Airbus helicopters from the Metropolitan Police Air Support Unit based at Lippitts Hill in Essex, backed up by aircraft from other forces.
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They can also call on the National Police Air Service, which has four Vulcan 68R fixed-wing aeroplanes.
Hostile vehicle barriers have been moved into place to stop terrorists driving into the crowd and there will be a double layer of crowd control barriers to make it harder for an attacker to reach the King.
Sniffer dogs will conduct random checks for explosives as the public arrive at transport hubs and there will be officers on horseback.
Man with knife outside palace raises concerns
The security effort comes as police were given greater powers to tackle disruption to the coronation under new laws that came into force on Wednesday.
However, the arrest of a man outside Buckingham Palace on Tuesday has highlighted security concerns.
A precautionary controlled explosion was carried out outside the palace and the man was held on suspicion of the possession of an offensive weapon, the force added.
Officers said a knife was found on him but he did not possess a gun.
The arrest has highlighted concerns, as has an escalating series of road-blocking protests by the Just Stop Oil campaign group.
But police are alert to the potential for a much bigger threat from terrorists who could use the global live television coverage to publicise their aims.
The new legislation carries up to a year in jail for demonstrators blocking roads, airports and railways.
Anyone locking or gluing themselves to buildings or objects risks six months behind bars.
Police can also stop and search anyone they suspect is planning to cause disruption – one of the powers given royal assent by the King on Tuesday.
Details of the new laws were outlined in a Home Office letter sent to various protest groups, some of whom reportedly condemned the move as “intimidatory”.
Police will have assembled an intelligence database of likely demonstrators and in the past, ahead of major public events, have visited known individuals to try to ask them about their intentions.
Anti-monarchist Patrick Thelwell, 23, who was fined last year for throwing an egg at the King in York, is urging others to join him at a Coronation Day “Not My King” protest in central London, but has asked demonstrators not to bring eggs.
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Minister warns coronation protesters
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said in a media briefing ahead of the coronation that the force is extremely proud to be policing proceedings in “the event of a lifetime”.
He said there will be hundreds of thousands of visitors coming to London for the event and said Saturday would be “one of the most significant security operations that the Met has led”.
Around 9,000 non-specialist police officers will be on duty, with another 2,500 officers specialising in areas such as close protection, firearms and search – putting the total deployment in excess of 11,500.
Meanwhile, Commander Karen Findlay, who is leading the policing operation as Gold Command, said there are more visitors classed as “V-VIP” attending the coronation than the Queen’s funeral.
She added that the deployment is also taking place in a shorter time period than for the funeral and around 10,000 military personnel will be present for the event.
Government in ‘no way complacent’
It comes as security minister Tom Tugendhat said the government is “in no way complacent” about security surrounding the King’s coronation after the arrest outside Buckingham Palace.
He said he was “very proud” of the way the police responded to the incident.
Mr Tugendhat told Kay Burley on Sky News: “I’m very glad to see that the police reacted incredibly quickly, incredibly professionally, to the incident last night.
“We’re in no way complacent. And I’m very, very proud of the response that the police have done.
“The intelligence services, the police and others have been working on this extremely effectively for months.”
Buckingham Palace confirmed neither the King nor Queen Consort were at the palace at the time of the incident.
Scotland Yard said they are not treating the incident as terror-related.
Asked how much security for the coronation would cost the taxpayer, Mr Tugendhat was unable to give a figure.
He said: “It’s very difficult to pull that out as a separate figure for the simple reason that we’ve got an enormous amount of effort going in for a major incident like this in different parts of the country – because there are people getting together in streets, there’s people getting together in gatherings across the country because this is a moment of national celebration.
“What I think is worth looking at, though, is how much this is bringing to the country in terms of the number of tourists who are coming, the amount of attention that is coming and indeed, I hope, the amount of business that will be generated by heads of state and government and other business people coming to the UK at this time to see what we offer.”
Pressed on figures of at least £100m just for security, Mr Tugendhat said: “It’s not a figure that I recognise, sorry.”
He said: “Forgive me for not being able to break it down at this point.
“The reason I don’t want to do that is because there’s police forces around the country who are doing different things and answer slightly differently through their own different structures.”
He said he did not have a number for how much it was costing the Metropolitan Police, but added: “What I’ve been doing is making sure that the Met are ready, and that means preparing with them and the National Crime Agency and the intelligence services to make sure they have all the resources they need.
“We have spent an awful lot of time over the last several months preparing for any number of different threats because the reality is this is a very complex event.”
In the long Gaza war, this is a significant moment.
For the people of Gaza, for the hostages and their families – this could be the moment it ends. But we have been here before, so many times.
The key question – will Hamas accept what Israel has agreed to: a 60-day ceasefire?
At the weekend, a source at the heart of the negotiations told me: “Both Hamas and Israel are refusing to budge from their position – Hamas wants the ceasefire to last until a permanent agreement is reached. Israel is opposed to this. At this point only President Trump can break this deadlock.”
The source added: “Unless Trump pushes, we are in a stalemate.”
The problem is that the announcement made now by Donald Trump – which is his social-media-summarised version of whatever Israel has actually agreed to – may just amount to Israel’s already-established position.
We don’t know the details and conditions attached to Israel’s proposals.
Would Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza? Totally? Or partially? How many Palestinian prisoners would they agree to release from Israel’s jails? And why only 60 days? Why not a total ceasefire? What are they asking of Hamas in return? We just don’t know the answers to any of these questions, except one.
We do know why Israel wants a 60-day ceasefire, not a permanent one. It’s all about domestic politics.
If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to agree now to a permanent ceasefire, the extreme right-wingers in his coalition would collapse his government.
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have both been clear about their desire for the war to continue. They hold the balance of power in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition.
If Mr Netanyahu instead agrees to just 60 days – which domestically he can sell as just a pause – then that may placate the extreme right-wingers for a few weeks until the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is adjourned for the summer.
It is also no coincidence that the US president has called for Mr Netanyahu’s corruption trial to be scrapped.
Without the prospect of jail, Mr Netanyahu might be more willing to quit the war safe in the knowledge that focus will not shift immediately to his own political and legal vulnerability.
The Women’s Euros begin in Switzerland today – with extreme heat warnings in place.
Security measures have had to be relaxed by UEFA for the opening matches so fans can bring in water bottles.
Temperatures could be about 30C (86F) when the Swiss hosts open their campaign against Norway in Basel this evening.
Players have already seen the impact of heatwaves this summer at the men’s Club World Cup in the US.
Image: The Spain squad pauses for refreshments during a training session. Pic: AP
It is raising new concerns in the global players’ union about whether the stars of the sport are being protected in hot and humid conditions.
FIFPRO has asked FIFA to allow cooling breaks every 15 minutes rather than just in the 30th minute of each half.
There’s also a request for half-time to be extended from 15 to 20 minutes to help lower the core temperature of players.
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FIFPRO’s medical director, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, said: “There are some very challenging weather conditions that we anticipated a couple of weeks ago already, that was already communicated to FIFA.
“And I think the past few weeks were confirmation of all worries that the heat conditions will play a negative role for the performance and the health of the players.”
Football has seemed focused on players and fans baking in the Middle East – but scorching summers in Europe and the US are becoming increasingly problematic for sport.
Image: England are the tournament’s defending champions. Pic: AP
While climate change is a factor, the issue is not new and at the 1994 World Cup, players were steaming as temperatures rose in the US.
There is now more awareness of the need for mitigation measures among players and their international union.
FIFPRO feels football officials weren’t responsive when it asked for kick-off times to be moved from the fierce afternoon heat in the US for the first 32-team Club World Cup.
FIFA has to balance the needs of fans and broadcasters with welfare, with no desire to load all the matches in the same evening time slots.
Electric storms have also seen six games stopped, including a two-hour pause during a Chelsea game at the weekend.
This is the dress rehearsal for the World Cup next summer, which is mostly in the US.
Image: Players are also feeling the heat at the Club World Cup. Pic: AP
The use of more indoor, air conditioned stadiums should help.
There is no prospect of moving the World Cup to winter, as Qatar had to do in 2022.
And looking further ahead to this time in 2030, there will be World Cup matches in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The temperatures this week have been hitting 40C (104F) in some host cities.
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FIFA said in a statement to Sky News: “Heat conditions are a serious topic that affect football globally.
“At the FCWC some significant and progressive measures are being taken to protect the players from the heat. For instance, cooling breaks were implemented in 31 out of 54 matches so far.
“Discussions on how to deal with heat conditions need to take place collectively and FIFA stands ready to facilitate this dialogue, including through the Task Force on Player Welfare, and to receive constructive input from all stakeholders on how to further enhance heat management.
“In all of this, the protection of players must be at the centre.”
Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.
Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.
Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.
“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.
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March: ‘We are going to lose children’: Fears over USAID cuts in Kenya
USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.
The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.
Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.
USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.
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Queer HIV activist on Trump and Musk’s USAID cuts
Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.
But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.
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What is USAID?
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.
The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.
Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.
The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.