This weekend marks the first coronation this country has seen in 70 years, meaning that for so many it is a never-before-seen historic moment. Expect TVs sets to be blaring, and bunting whipped out from thin air.If you want to be part of this seminal moment in Britain’s modern history but haven’t booked anywhere to while the day away yet, here’s what you need to know and where to join in.
The royal route
The crowning begins tomorrow at 11am, inside Westminster Abbey, taking the hint from the last 900 years or so of protocol. The service, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, pictured below, won’t be a jolly old knees-up; instead the Palace are calling it “a solemn religious service”.
The hour-or-so service will be witnessed by about 2,000 guests and there are chances to be involved. Before the King and Queen duck into the Abbey, they head on the King’s Procession, a half-hour, 1.3-mile route that at 10.20am begins at Buckingham Palace, rumbles down the Mall, through Admiralty Arch, does a right at Trafalgar Square and trots the length of Whitehall.
While the area surrounding Westminster Abbey is closed to the public, there will be viewing areas along the procession route on both sides of the road, which opens at 6am. The public are asked to keep away until then.
The viewing platforms are expected to be busy and will close as soon as they’re full; getting down early is advised (especially for those wanting to see the guests, the first of whom will arrive from 7.15am (with the royals, heads of state and former PMs expected from 9.30am).
Bear in mind that screens aren’t being hoisted along the route so catching a glimpse of the pageantry isn’t guaranteed, especially if you end up behind a row of Union Jack bowler hats. As such, the ceremony itself can’t be seen from the pavements.
Once the King and Queen are back in the Palace, the barriers along the Mall will be removed, letting people onto the road; this is the place to be if you want to catch a glimpse of the balcony appearance, anticipated at 2.15pm or so, when there will also be a fly-past from the armed forces.
Thus ends all the official procession pageantry; given that most pubs in the area will still be open, now would be a good time for a pint. The Red Lion on Parliament Street and The Admiralty on Trafalgar Square are both on the route, and both will serve Fuller’s limited-edition Coronation King’s Ale. After something more substantial and suitably high-end? Eat at extremely top-end Gouqi on Trafalgar Square or, if you’re nearer the Buckingham Palace end, pop into The Goring, which itself is a royal favourite. The dining room is a light-filled joy, the food is first-rate.
Missed out on the Mall?
If the official procession is looking crowded, there are seven official big screens in town showing all the fun.
These are in parks, with most running from around 10am to 3pm: Green; Hyde; Valence in Dagenham; Walpole in Ealing; Holland; Battersea; St James’s (also showing the Coronation concert on Sunday). Hyde Park has four screens alone while at Marble Arch, there is a 16ft replica of the St Edward’s Crown Charles will wear. TikTok awaits.
The likes of Grovesnor Square in Mayfair will have a screen as part of its Alice In Wonderland-themed, weekend-long garden party. Rain is expected, sadly, so it’s poncho and brolly time. Still, if the King can put up with the fact that it’ll literally be raining on his parade, so can you: a picnic doesn’t need to be off the cards and the capital’s parks are welcoming them. What to pack in the picnic basket? Boiled eggs, of course — the monarch apparently has one with every meal — and don’t forget the Laurent-Perrier (said to be Charles’s favourite Champagne) or pre-mixed gin martinis, his cocktail of choice.
If you’re raising one to toast the King, the best in town are at the American Bar in The Stafford in St James’s or in Egerton House Hotel over in Knightsbridge, where they’re served with Welsh Rarebit.
If making your own party sounds like too much work, head to one that’s ready-made. Highlights include Battersea Power Station, where there’s a two-day King’s Coronation Party (big screens, lots of stalls, child-friendly theatre, scattered DJs), the King’s Road coronation-themed festival, which sees Sloane Square to Cheltenham Terrace pedestrianised with picnic tables, bunting and a large floral installation of the Royal Crest and coronation emblem, and the Mitre hotel by the dawn-till-dusk Quintessential English Garden Party at Hampton Court running tomorrow and Sunday.
And what else? British eccentricity remains alive and well. Uber is offering regal-looking rides through Dulwich Park in a horse-drawn Coronation Carriage, while a pistachio green Nyetimber Routemaster will be at The Savoy offering fizz to passers-by. Here’s to a merry Coronation!
