King Charles’s coronation will be an occasion for ‘celebration and pageantry’ – find out all the details
The coronation of King Charles III will take place on Saturday 6 May with a bank holiday on Monday 8 May.
Like his mother, the King will be crowned at Westminster Abbey, in the presence of faith leaders, peers, MPs, and foreign heads of state.
Here Sky News looks at what we can expect from the service on Saturday 6 May that will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the events taking place in the following days.
The gold state coach was used for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation
What will happen on the day?
The Queen’s coronation took place at 11.15am on 2 June 1953.
Although specific timings have not yet been released, on the day, King Charles will travel from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey with his Queen Consort, Camilla, in what is known as “the King’s procession”.
Like his mother and father, they are likely to be taken in the gold state coach, which is reserved for coronations and jubilees.
Up to a million people travelled to London to watch the coach along the Mall in 1953.
Crowds in Trafalgar Square on the day of the Queen’s coronation
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King coronation details announced
The ceremony will be broadcast live on television, but the number of guests who attend in person is expected to be cut from 8,000 to 2,000.
It is thought it will be shorter than the previous one – lasting just over an hour instead of three.
Peers will wear suits and formal dresses as opposed to ceremonial robes and many of the traditional rituals, including the presentation of gold ingots, will not feature this time.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.”
Despite speculation that the current cost of living crisis and the King’s desire for a slimmed down monarchy will mean a more muted ceremony, royal sources are adamant that feedback indicated people want to see the best of Britain today, and celebrate the United Kingdom’s rich and unique history.
The Queen and Prince Philip ride in the gold state coach to Westminster Abbey
There will also be similarities with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last year.
Queen Elizabeth’s son and heir wanted to follow a similar ethos of recognising community heroes and bringing people together, by encouraging street parties on Sunday 7 May and a day of volunteering events on Monday 8 May.
After the ceremony, the King and Queen Consort will be joined by other family members on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to conclude the day’s ceremonial events.
It is still unknown whether Prince Harry and wife Meghan will be among those attending.
Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family watching the Platinum Jubilee RAF flypast
Six-part ceremony
There are six parts to the coronation – the recognition, oath, anointing, investiture, enthronement and homage.
The recognition sees the monarch stand in the theatre – the central part of the Abbey – and turn to the north, south, east and west to “show himself unto the people”.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will then declare him the “undoubted King”.
This ritual dates back to Anglo-Saxon times.
The Queen’s funeral was held at Westminster Abbey
Second is the coronation oath, which will see the King promise to reign according to law, exercise justice with mercy and maintain the Church of England.
He will then be presented with the Sword of State and declare at the altar: “The things which I have here before promised, I will perform, and keep. So help me God”, before kissing the Bible and signing the oath.
The third part – the anointing – follows, which is the process of blessing and consecrating the new monarch with holy oil – the central act of the religious ceremony. The King will remove his crimson robe and sit in King Edward’s Chair.
Fourthly, the investiture is the official crowning.
It will see the King dressed in special robes and presented with the orb, coronation ring, sceptre and rod.
Sitting in King Edward’s Chair, he will be crowned with St Edward’s Crown before the congregation shouts out “God Save the King”.
The Queen carries the orb and sceptre during her coronation ceremony in 1953
This is followed by the enthroning, which will see the monarch lifted onto a different throne by archbishops, bishops and “other peers of the kingdom”.
The final stage of the King’s coronation is known as homage.
It sees the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Prince of Wales and other royal blood princes paying tribute to the King by placing their hands between his and kissing his right hand.
Queen Elizabeth II wears St Edward’s Crown
Camilla to be crowned
The Queen Consort will then also be crowned.
Unlike the wives of Kings, the husbands of Queens do not become King Consorts and are therefore not crowned.
But ahead of her Platinum Jubilee, the Queen announced Camilla would be known as Queen Consort on King Charles’s accession.
Instead the Duke of Edinburgh “paid homage” to Queen Elizabeth II immediately after the formal coronation – as Prince William and other princes are likely to do this time.
The Queen Mother was anointed and crowned during her husband’s coronation in 1937.
According to the Royal Family’s website: “A Queen consort is crowned with the King, in a similar but simpler ceremony.”
The coronation concert
On Sunday, the day after the coronation, “global music icons and contemporary stars” descend on Windsor Castle for the coronation concert.
Thousands of members of the public will be selected to receive a pair of free tickets, which are up for grabs through a national ballot held by the BBC, which will also broadcast the event live.
Queen guitarist Brian May performs during the Platinum Jubilee concert. Pic: AP
The “world’s biggest entertainers” and world-class orchestras will be supported by a selection of dancers and spoken word sequences delivered by stars of stage and screen.
The Coronation Choir will also perform, created from members of the nation’s community choirs and amateur singers such as refugee choirs, NHS choirs and LGBTQ+ singing groups, in part to make the weekend feel as inclusive and diverse as possible.
The centrepiece of the coronation concert, dubbed by the palace as “lighting up the nation”, will see landmarks across the UK lit up using projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations.
The Platinum Jubilee concert, June 2022. Pic: AP
Others will be invited to gather at the Eden Project in Cornwall, for a “coronation big lunch”, overseen by The Big Lunch, an incentive which the Queen Consort has been patron of for 10 years.
Bank holiday Monday dubbed ‘the big help out’
Coronations have traditionally fallen on weekdays, which have been declared bank holidays to allow the public to get involved by either watching on TV or crowding the streets in London.
As King Charles’s coronation will fall on a Saturday, Monday 8 May has been set as a bank holiday in all four nations of the UK.
The day is being billed as “the big help out” and has been set aside for volunteering to help highlight the positive impact volunteering has on communities.
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Organised by The Together Coalition and a wide range of partners such as The Scouts, the Royal Voluntary Service and faith groups from across the UK, the palace said it will be in tribute to the King’s public service and will help “encourage people to try volunteering for themselves”.
The government has already launched a consultation on extending pub opening hours throughout the coronation weekend, meaning pubs in England and Wales could be allowed to stay open until 1am from Friday to Sunday.
Ipswich Town fans celebrated their “long-awaited” return to the Premier League after they secured promotion over weekend.
On Saturday, Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys clinched their place in the top flight with a 2-0 win over now-relegated Huddersfield Town.
The result meant Ipswich will return to the Premier League for the first time since 2002.
Saturday’s victory secured the Suffolk club back-to-back promotions as they became the first team since Southampton in 2011 and 2012 to win successive promotions to the top flight from League One.
On Monday the team rode through Ipswich on an open-top bus, with thousands of fans turning out to celebrate.
Speaking to Sky News, fans described feelings of euphoria amid the celebrations, as others were enjoying a long weekend of non-stop celebrating.
“It’s been a really really long time coming,” one fan said.
Ipswich Town players during an open-top bus parade to celebrate promotion to the Premier League.
Young Ipswich Town fans climbed into trees for the best vantage point of the open-top bus parade. Pic: PA
Ipswich Town’s Massimo Luongo lifts the promotion trophy during an open-top bus parade. Pic PA
Pic: PA
Paul Smith (right) and son Arthur are on their second day of celebrating
Paul Smith, who like many was on his second day of celebrating, said: “I’ve been lucky enough to live through an era of seeing the great times at Ipswich, but I dragged him [his son] along for many many years and I’m grateful his generation gets to see some great times as well.
“When you realise the teams we’re going to be playing it’s incredible.”
Paul’s son Arthur said it was “euphoric” seeing his side promoted but admitted to feeling quite “jaded” from the celebrations.
It was also quite an emotional moment for some who shared a bond with the club with family members.
Pic: PA
Ipswich Town fans turned out in huge numbers to celebrate. Pic: PA
Pic PA
Pic: PA
Adam Conuel, another fan, described the promotion in one word: “Unbelievable”.
He added: “My grandad passed away last year, we were quite close, he was a supporter all his life too, like my dad.”
He described the celebrations as “emotional” and said “look how many people are here, it’s crazy, I never thought in my lifetime… every conversation I’ve had with my grandpa used to be ‘we were rubbish weren’t we’ and he’s missed the past two years of us being unbelievable so it’s quite emotional to watch us.”
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Pic PA
Adam Conuel, an Ipswich Town fan, described being emotional during the celebrations after his grandad, a lifetime supporter, missed out after passing away shortly before their turnaround
An aerial view of the open-top bus during Monday’s celebrations. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Again and again one name surfaced from fans out celebrating – their coach McKenna.
The 37-year-old Northern Irish manager has taken the English football league by storm in recent years, charging up to the Premier League.
A former Manchester United assistant manager, McKenna was praised repeatedly by fans for his handling of the club and his brand of attacking, and successful, football.
When he took charge of Ipswich, they were languishing in League One and now within three years he has catapulted them to the Premier League.
Ipswich fans with flares outside the stadium before their final match on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
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Speaking on board the bus, McKenna told Sky Sports News: “It’s an incredible turnout, amazing seeing so much joy.
“Everyone deserves it, the whole town deserves it, the players … for how hard they’ve worked. And the supporters, who’ve followed so loyally for years and have been waiting for a day like this.
“We just set out to be as good as we could possibly be.
“The closer you get to the end you know you’re within reach of an amazing achievement and we’re so glad we were able to finish off well.”
UK
Scottish singer drafted in to replace Olly Murs at Glasgow Take That concert thought offer was a ‘joke’
A Scottish singer plucked from obscurity at the last minute to replace Olly Murs as the opening act for Take That in Glasgow has told Sky News he thought the life-changing opportunity was a “joke”.
Daniel Rooney, 26, was playing at the Radisson Red hotel opposite the OVO Hydro when news broke that Murs was forced to cancel his support act on Friday due to transport issues.
TV presenter Ross King, who was enjoying a family dinner at the hotel, was impressed with Mr Rooney’s vocals and recommended the singer to his friend and Take That frontman Gary Barlow.
With 30 minutes to go before the show was due to start, Mr Rooney was quickly whisked to the arena and opened the festivities with a range of upbeat cover songs.
Barlow later thanked him on Instagram.
Take That: Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen. Pic: PA
Mr Rooney, from Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, told Sky News he thought it was a wind-up at first.
He said: “I was thinking, ‘right, who’s trying to play a wee joke on me here’. But thankfully it wasn’t a joke and Ross King was saying, ‘I’ve got an opportunity of a lifetime here, Danny boy, so are you up for it?’
“And I was.”
Mr Rooney started to feel a mixture of emotions on his way to the stage. As well as excitement, he began to feel apprehensive about what he was going to play.
He said: “I was obviously buzzing just to get that news. It was just mental.
“I had a wee discussion with the boys from Take That, who were brilliant and really good with me.
“We just agreed on making it really fun and making the songs nice big singalongs.
“It was just really great. The crowd were brilliant, and they sang to every song and the feedback was magic.”
Mr Rooney paid tribute to Mr King for the opportunity and thanked him for his warm introduction onstage to explain the situation to the crowd.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr King said: “I was listening to [Mr Rooney] while I was having dinner and was very impressed – never thinking that 30 minutes later I’d be saying ‘come with me and support Take That’.
“Gary Barlow is one of my closest pals and I’ve known the band since 1990. When Gary called me and said ‘you’re going to have to go on, Olly is stuck in London’, I thought it was a wind-up. But no.”
Mr King agreed to go on, but then pitched the idea of Mr Rooney.
Mr King added: “Daniel was the coolest guy in the Hydro and played a blinder. I was thrilled to share the stage with him and help out my old mates too.
“I know this has made news all around the world, so I hope Daniel continues to have the success he deserves.”
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Mr Rooney now intends to head into the studio to record some music.
He added: “I’ve got some ideas and demos there, so this is the opportunity to get them out now and just really capitalise on the moment.”
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Olly Murs. Pic: PA
Murs apologised for cancelling his performance at short notice after falling foul of flight issues.
The former X Factor star said he had been at Heathrow from 11am ahead of his performance on Friday night, but the flight was cancelled after “several delays” and an accident with a cabin crew member.
He later shared a video of himself being driven to Glasgow for his Saturday and Sunday performances.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine programme on Monday, Murs paid tribute to Mr Rooney for holding his nerve and being able to perform in front of an arena crowd of thousands with just 30 minutes’ notice.
Murs said: “Fair play to him, that’s amazing. You know what, credit to him.”
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