After the gilded spectacle of King Charles III's crowning in an ancient religious ceremony, coronation festivities took a more down-to-earth turn Sunday with thousands of picnics and street parties held across the UK in his honor.
The community get-togethers, part of a British tradition known as the Big Lunch, were intended to bring neighbours together to celebrate the newly crowned king even as support for the monarchy wanes. Critics complained about the coronation's cost at a time of exorbitant living expenses amid double-digit inflation.
