King Charles III Coronation timetable: What's the order of events?
14 April 2023, 11:36 | Updated: 6 May 2023, 7:42
What time does King Charles's Coronation start? When is the Coronation Concert? And what happens on the bank holiday Monday? Here's a full rundown of the events and schedule for the celebratory weekend.
King Charles III's Coronation is such a big royal event that it will last a full three days ranging from the ceremony at Westminster Abbey itself, to a star-studded concert and even a community day across the UK.
With a jam-packed scheduled with a precise order of events, there will be plenty of chances for the British public to celebrate their new king and queen as well as catch a glimpse of them as they travel around London.
So if you're looking forward to revelling in all things royal for the bank holiday coronation weekend, here's a look at the full timetable (as so far confirmed) including times, dates and order of events.
What time is King Charles and Queen Camilla's Coronation and what is the schedule?
Saturday 6th May is the beginning and most important part of the celebrations as Charles and his wife will officially be crowned the new monarchs.
Prior to the ceremony at Westminster Abbey - which will be filled with 2,000 guests - Charles and Camilla will begin their procession from Buckingham Palace in the Diamond Jubilee state coach.
Read more: Why Meghan Markle isn't attending King Charles' Coronation with Prince Harry
Read more: King Charles Coronation: Who will be on the balcony for the flypast?
Here's the order of events for coronation day:
- From 5am, pedestrian restrictions in Central London come into effect.
- From 6am, viewing areas open along the procession route.
- Between 7.15 and 8.30am, guests for Westminster Abbey begin to arrive at security checkpoints in Victoria Tower Gardens.
- At 9am, the congregation to be seated inside Westminster Abbey.
- From 9.30am to 10.45am, the Heads of state, overseas government representatives, Government ministers, First Ministers, former PMs, foreign royals and members of the royal family will arrive and take their seats.
- At 9.45am, the Sovereign's Escort of the Household Cavalry will begin to gather ready for the procession from Buckingham Palace.
- At 10.20am, the King and Queen Consort's procession sets off from Buckingham Palace along the Mall.
- At approximately 10.53am, the King and Queen Consort arrive at Westminster Abbey.
- Around 11am, King Charles and Camilla will enter the Abbey through the Great West Door and the service begins.
- At 12pm, the King is crowned. The Archbishop of Canterbury places the St Edward's Crown on Charles's head. Trumpets will sound and gun salutes will be fired across the UK.
- Around 1pm, the service ends and the newly crowned King and Queen begin their coronation procession back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach.
- Approximately 1.33pm, King Charles and Camilla are expected to enter Buckingham Palace through the Centre Arch.
- At 1.45pm, the King and Queen Consort receive a royal salute from the military in the Palace gardens
- Around 2.15pm, the King, Queen Consort and members of the royal family appear on the Palace balcony to watch the flypast.
What is the coronation weekend's programme of events?
Following the big day on Saturday, Sunday will take a more relaxed approach with the following:
- Coronation Big Lunch: Neighbours and communities are invited to share food and fun with traditional street parties. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be hosting his own at 10 Downing Street.
- Coronation concert: Windsor Castle will see a concert to celebrate the new monarch with a whole line-up of celebrity guests. A time is yet to be officially announced but it will happen after the Big Lunch and continue late into the evening.
Bank holiday Monday - an extra for 2023 to celebrate the coronation - will be known as The Big Help Out where the royal family are encouraging communities to get out and volunteer.