A Guide to the Day and to Our Memorable Items
YOUR GUIDE TO THE CORONATION
AND YOUR GUIDE TO YOUR JAMES PIRIE CORONATION MEMORABILIA
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Now I don’t know about you but I doubt I’ll be up at 6 a.m. for the start of the proceedings and as you can tell from writing this I’m not one of those hardy souls already camped out on the Mall in London to get the best perch for the Coronation day. But if you want an early start then it all kicks off with a formal procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. And radio coverage will date from that o’clock. But the main event the big procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey will signal the start of the coronation ceremonies at 10.20 a.m., sharp! After the procession with Horse Guards, Beefeaters and soldiery aplenty and loads of the pomp and ceremony the new monarch, King Charles will be crowned, alongside Queen Camilla. This as we all know is a break from tradition, but not quite the thing that happened at Westminster to Queen Caroline 122 years ago. The Abbey's door was slammed in Queen Caroline's face when she attempted to attend King George IV's coronation now that is a break in tradition.
In the ride from the palace King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla will be in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach rather than the older, more uncomfortable, Gold State Coach, but they can’t escape that old horror as they will ride back to the palace in it. The procession leaves Buckingham Palace from the Centre Gate and then goes down The Mall, passing under Admiralty Arch and along the south side of Trafalgar Square, before turning down Whitehall and finally along Parliament Street. This is a much, much shorter route that the late Queen took in 1953. The Coronation service will begin at 11a.m. and the ceremony will be followed by a weekend of events, including a concert at Windsor Castle. The King and Queen Consort will be crowned in the Abbey: Though Camilla will henceforward just be called “Queen.”
The King is crowned and anointed first and after that they will descend from their thrones and enter St Edward's Chapel behind the high altar. Charles will be at that point wearing the St Edward's Crown, but he removes that and puts on the Imperial State Crown and joins the procession out of the abbey as the national anthem is played. The King and Queen will then return to Buckingham Palace along the same route by which they came. And as I said the old monstrosity, the 260-year-old Gold State Coach will be used as tradition dictates and which has been used in every coronation since William IV.
On the journey back to the palace they will be joined by representatives from Commonwealth countries and the British Overseas Territories. And the Royal British Legion will provide a 100-strong guard of honour to line the procession route in Parliament Square. After a spot of lunch as has become the custom they will go to the balcony and wave to the crowds. It was first done at the coronation of Edward VII in 1902.
In 1953 at the late Queen’s coronation she was joined by close family and various royals and they all witnessed a stupendous fly-past by hundreds of RAF and Fleet Air Arm aircraft. There won’t be quite as many planes this time around, but at 14:30p.m. there will be a six-minute fly-past involving members of the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and culminating in a display by the Red Arrows team.
And if you want to commemorate the great day we have oodles of high quality Coronation goodies for you to choose from. These have been recommended on ITV, This Morning Live, and in the pages and web pages of those august publications the Telegraph and the Mail. If you want them for the day you’ll have to hurry, but as these are timeless reminders of the day they’ll still be as relevant after the event. Like this fantastic decanter which is a piece for the ages and will become an instant family heirloom. Beautifully hand cut and engraved, this elegant and prestigious Highland Square Spirit crystal decanter is an impressive piece celebrating this historic occasion. This Royal Scot Crystal commemorative piece is supplied with a small commemorative card. It’s got free delivery and can be gift wrapped, choose this option at check out. God save the King!
