King Charles arrives for Coronation rehearsals at Westminster Abbey

Royal rehearsals for King Charles’ Coronation: Monarch, Queen Camilla, William, Kate and their children all arrive at Westminster Abbey as they prepare for the big event

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King Charles and Prince William led the Royal Family today in attending rehearsals for his Coronation at Westminster Abbey.

His Majesty was pictured beaming outside the historic church in central London as he arrived with the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children George, Charlotte and Louis. 

Princess Anne and Queen Consort Camilla were also there to greet church officials before they went inside.

It comes after thousands of personnel from the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force marched from Buckingham Palace to the Abbey in the early hours of this morning as they practiced for the big day on Saturday.  

The Diamond Jubilee State Coach and Gold State Coach were also used in the full-scale rehearsal shortly after midnight.

Royal fans waited for more than three hours for the parade to make a return journey down the Mall. 


King Charles and Prince William led the Royal Family today in attending rehearsals for his Coronation at Westminster Abbey

The Princess of Wales is seen arriving at Westminster Abbey today for rehearsals for the King’s Coronation

Queen Consort Camilla greets church officials outside Westminster Abbey today as she arrives for Coronation rehearsals

Princess Charlotte follows her father and brother into Westminster Abbey as she arrives for rehearsals for her grandfather’s Coronation

Crowds gathered in St James’ Park to find the best spots near the palace with many trying to spot their relatives in their military outfits.

Soldiers carried instruments including saxophones, trumpets, horns and cymbals but only the drums were played by marching troops before they marched back down the Mall after 3am.

The parade had began when soldiers dressed in bright yellow uniforms began the short journey and the brass band on horseback practised as they accompanied the stage coach as it passed through Westminster. 

Onlookers skipped along next to the stage coach and ran after the regiments of mounted soldiers that followed. Soldiers from a wide variety of regiments marched down the Mall after 1am.

Saturday’s timings for the King’s Coronation

Here is a rundown of all the timings so far for the Coronation this Saturday:

  • 5am – Pedestrian restrictions in Central London come into effect
  • 6am – Viewing areas open along the procession route.
  • 7.15-8.30am – Guests for Westminster Abbey begin to arrive at security check points in Victoria Tower Gardens.
  • 9am – Congregation to be seated inside the Abbey.
  • 9.30-10.45am – Heads of state, overseas government representatives, Government ministers, First Ministers, former PMs, foreign royals and members of the royal family arrive.
  • 9.45am – The Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry begin to gather ready for the procession from Buckingham Palace.
  • 10.20am – The King and Queen Consort’s procession sets off from the Palace.
  • 10.53am – The King and Queen Consort arrive at Westminster Abbey.
  • 11am – Charles and Camilla enter the Abbey through the Great West Door and the service begins.
  • 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.
  • 1pm – The service ends and the newly crowned King and Queen begin their coronation procession back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach.
  • 1.33pm – Charles and Camilla are expected to enter Buckingham Palace through the Centre Arch.
  • 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.

Buckingham Palace remained mostly silent with soldiers quietly maintaining protocol until a regiment playing the bagpipes brought the area to life shortly after 2.30am.

At least 15 tents are already positioned along the Mall and royal fans got to test their viewpoint as they prepare to camp out until Saturday.

John Loughrey, 68, claimed to be the first person to set up his tent on the Mall on April 27, nine days before the Coronation.

He said: ‘We like the build up, the rehearsals and seeing people throughout the day. There are a lot of tourists and they come and say they wish they had something like this in their country.’

Mr Loughrey explained he had been camping outside royal events for 26 years and spent a month camping out after Princess Charlotte was born. He added: ‘We did a lot of research. We (picked this spot) because there are no trees so you can see the Red Arrows.’

Other soldiers were spotted parading in Parliament Square and practised changing position as Big Ben chimed.

Artillery regiments rehearsed moving cannons on horseback and soldiers were seen pretending to fire the ceremonial weapons.

The procession returned to Buckingham Palace shortly after 3am with bands in full swing. The Gold State Coach was spotted passing Buckingham Palace shortly after 3.20am.

The rehearsal took place hours after a man was arrested outside Buckingham Palace after throwing suspected shotgun cartridges into the palace grounds.

The man was held on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon after he was searched and a knife was found, but he was not carrying a gun.

Cordons were put in place and Scotland Yard said a controlled explosion was carried out as a precaution as the man had a ‘suspicious bag’.

Cordons were put in place after the man was found with a ‘suspicious bag’ but have since been removed.

Ricardo Sousa and Elizabeth Godfrey, who are among those camping at the Mall, said they ‘didn’t even know anything had happened.’

‘We work not far from here and we’re night owls so instead of going to bed we thought we should come down and watch,’ the pair explained.

‘It’s something to be part of and it’s nice to see the military from different parts of world united.’

At least 15 tents are already positioned along the mall and royal fans got to test out what view they will have of the King when a carriage was pulled along the Mall by white horses

Royal fans watched as members of the military march rehearsed for the Coronation just after 12.20am this morning

Dozens of people lined the Birdcage Walk in London to watch as members of the military march paraded past Buckingham Palace towards Westminster Abbey early this morning

Jovial royal fanatics have been treated to a first glimpse of the Coronation of King Charles III as rehearsals take place down the Mall

A night time rehearsal in central London for the coronation of King Charles III

A night time rehearsal in Central London for the Coronation of King Charles III, which will take place on Saturday

A brass band in yellow uniforms on horseback started the parade after a recording of the national anthem

Some 7,000 armed forces personnel will process from the Abbey back to Buckingham Palace where the newly-crowned king and queen will be given a royal salute in the gardens. Officials are pictured during a rehearsal this morning

A tent has been set up in advance of the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III on the Mall

A band marches through Westminster during a nighttime coronation rehearsal

Members of the military march near Buckingham Palace in central London during a nighttime rehearsal for the coronation which will take place at Westminster Abbey on Saturday

Yesterday evening when police swarmed on Buckingham Palace after a man was arrested for allegedly throwing shotgun cartridges into the palace grounds

 Police patrol the scene after a man was arrested after allegedly throwing items, suspected to be shotgun cartridges, into the grounds of Buckingham Palace in London

Gemma Gale, whose husband is a Royal Navy reserve who was marching during the rehearsal, said it was ‘disgusting’ that there was a police incident earlier in the night.

Ms Gale, 41, said: ‘We’re from the south coast and my husband is marching tonight. This is brilliant, it’s all amazing.

‘It doesn’t surprise me something happened earlier tonight, unfortunately, it’s to be expected.

‘With events like this it’s opportunists, they’re all out because they have a big audience with the coronation. It’s not right, it’s disgusting.’

At least 15 tents are already positioned along the mall and royal fans got to test out what view they will have of the King when a carriage was pulled along the Mall by white horses.

Road closures in London for this Friday from 7pm until late on Saturday – the day before the Coronation and the day itself

With just four days to go until the coronation, superfans have said they are prepared to camp out for several days to secure front-row seats to Saturday’s festivities.

‘This is a moment in history. We are so fortunate that we are living through a coronation,’ Marie Scott, who was among the first to set up camp on the avenue leading to Buckingham Palace, said yesterday.

Ms Scott, 52, has been attending royal events since the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011. She said being there in person is not the same as watching it from a TV screen.

‘You’ve got to see them with your own eyes and get the feel of everything around you,’ Ms Scott explained as she finished setting up a tent.

‘It’s magical, seeing all the military, the military bands coming down. It makes you proud, proud to be British.’

Troops march through Parliament Square in a dress rehearsal ahead of the coronation

A man wearing an apparent union jack poncho walks past tents and people who have started to queue for the coronation of King Charles III

Members of a military band march along the Mall near Buckingham Palace in central London during a rehearsal for the coronation of King Charles III

Foldaway chairs and a large poster of Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla were set up along the Mall

Members of the military march near Buckingham Palace early this morning in preparation for Saturday’s coronation ceremony

Ms Scott is with a group of friends, who have reserved their spots days in advance. 

Among them is Carol Foster, 63, who has been camping on The Mall since last Thursday.

‘We wanted to get a good spot, because we think it’s going to be busy. And it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,’ Ms Foster said after her first night of camping.

Also part of their group is Patrick O’Neill, who flew in from Belfast in Northern Ireland and is a seasoned attendee of royal events.

He said he has come to ‘soak up the atmosphere’ in the run-up to the coronation and to spend time with people who share a common passion.

‘It’s important that I’ll be with my friends that I’ve met over the years from all different places in the country,’ said Mr O’Neill, donning a plastic crown and wrapped in a Union Jack flag with a portrait of King Charles.

‘It’s a real interest. It’s a real passion… It’s hard to put into words how much it means to me,’ he said.

A band practises for the coronation of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla on Saturday. The ceremony will be the most glorious display of pageantry seen in Britain for a generation

Workers carry pizza boxes past the gates of Buckingham Palace late last night

Royal enthusiasts set-up a tent along the Coronation route at The Mall in London yesterday

A teddy bear decorated with a crown is left on the side of a tent on King’s Charles’ III Coronation route along The Mall in London

Further up The Mall and a few steps closer to Buckingham Palace was Faith Nicholson, who shares a long list of royal events that she has attended over the years.

‘It’s a great atmosphere, everybody is really kind and everyone looks after each other,’ Ms Nicholson said. ‘Once it really kicks off, it’s really memorable’.

The upcoming coronation – the first since 1953 – has also attracted visitors from abroad, like Thomas Moore, an American with English roots who travelled from near Salt Lake City with his wife Stephanie.

Mr Moore, 80, said they have crossed the Atlantic for many royal events over the years, the last being Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70 years on the throne, last year.

‘I get goosebumps when I see a king driving by. I’m part of an old generation where that means a lot,’ Moore said as they set up folding camping chairs.

‘This is a very special occasion. This is going into your blood.’

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