King Charles' very specific seating plan for Coronation put special guests in sight

Special guests from the King’s life, including aides, family members and friends, were given prime positions during his coronation last weekend.

Millions watched on television and big screen across the UK last week when the Archbishop of Canterbury crowned Charles and Camilla at Westminster Abbey.

Around 2,200 people saw the crowning moment from inside the historic building, with those closest to the King given prime positions for his big moment.

Hello!’s royal editor Emily Nash explained the “special” seating choice on an an episode of the publication’s A Right Royal Podcast , which delved into the details of Saturday’s historic event.

Around 2,200 people were inside the abbey for the historic moment (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Express reported her saying: “I thought it was lovely on his way into the Abbey and out, he had genuine, very warm smiles for people who were in the crowd.

“A lot of his very close, long-serving aides were in the front row.

“I think that was deliberate because he was able to see very familiar faces as he walked through — both he and Queen Camilla .

“You could see them catching people's eyes and acknowledging them. I think that was really special.”

Five of the Queen’s Companions were part of the congregation.

Sitting in the Abbey were Sarah Troughton, a former lady-in-waiting to the Duchess of Kent and a longtime friend of Camilla, Jane von Westenholz, a long-standing friend, Lady Sarah Keswick, Lady Katherine Brooke, the daughter of Lady Susan Hussey, who was a long-serving lady-in-waiting to the late Queen, and Baroness Carlyn Chisholm, a former British politician and member of the House of Lords.

VIPS, including Katy Perry, were at the event (AP)

Meanwhile, members of the King’s household included Jo Churchill, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Segrave, Secretary of the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, and Marcus Jones, Treasurer of the Household.

Some of their closest advisors took part in the couple’s procession into the Abbey itself.

The Coronation of King Charles III was watched by more viewers than Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding.

The ceremony on Saturday attracted more viewers than the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s big day, but failed to top the dizzy heights of the Queen’s funeral’s viewing figures.

The audience peaked at 20.4 million just after midday, when the new King was crowned, according to ratings from the research organisation BARB.

The viewing figures included 13.4million people tuning in to the ceremony on BBC One, 3.6million on ITV and 1.5million on BBC Two.

Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018 drew in a peak audience of 17.9 million, while the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II was seen by a huge peak audience of 28 million.

In contrast, the 2011 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was seen by 24 million.

The Coronation managed to draw in a bigger audience than last year’s England Lioness victory at the Euro 2022 final which, at a peak viewership of 17.4million, was the UK’s most watched broadcast for that year.

Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, said: “The BBC brought people across the UK together to share a once-in-a-generation event.”