The newly crowned King Charles and Queen Camilla will wave to the public from the Buckingham Palace balcony after arriving home from Westminster Abbey on the day of their coronation.
The coronation service, taking place on the morning of Saturday, May 6, will be a solemn occasion, shrouded in royal tradition. But the procession that follows will see thousands of Brits turn out onto the streets of central London to cheer the royal couple as they make their way back to the palace.
Charles and Camilla are due to enter the palace through the centre arch just after 1.30pm as their procession in the Gold State Coach comes to an end. In the palace gardens, they will receive a salute from the military, before heading up to the royal balcony.
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It is a longstanding tradition that members of the royal family wave to crowds from the balcony during historic moments. The first recorded appearance of a monarch on the royal balcony, which faces out onto The Mall, took place in 1851 when Queen Victoria stepped out during celebrations for the opening of the Great Exhibition.
The late Queen Elizabeth II’s memorable appearance on the balcony, with her children and grandchildren alongside her, at the Platinum Jubilee last year marked one of her final farewells to the public before her death at the age of 96. Kate and William also delighted the crowds when they appeared on the balcony following their wedding ceremony, sharing not one but two kisses as they greeted the sea of people there to see them.
As part of the King’s Coronation celebrations, Charles and Camilla will be joined by members of the royal family on the balcony, where they will watch the RAF flypast. It is estimated that they will make their appearance at around 2.15pm.
The Palace has not released details about exactly which members of the royal family will appear alongside them. But the King is expected to follow in his mother’s footsteps, which would mean only working members of the royal family get an invite - that would exclude Charles’ son Prince Harry, and his brother Prince Andrew, neither of which appeared on the balcony during the Jubilee celebrations.
As well as William and Kate, now the Prince and Princess of Wales, and their children, the King will likely invite his sister Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, to stand alongside him as working royals for the occasion. Edward and Sophie's children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, the new Earl of Wessex, have appeared on the balcony on occasions before, but they are not working royals so might not have made the cut this time around.
Other working royals that could be asked include Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who is the late Queen’s cousin, and his wife Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester. Siblings Edward, Duke of Kent, and Princess Alexandra, also cousins of the late Queen, are also working royals but with them both being well into their 80s they could choose to retire soon.
Reflecting the idea of a new ‘slimmed down’ monarchy, Elizabeth II decided that her final appearance on the balcony would see just seven of her closest family alongside her - Charles and Camilla, William and Kate and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The trio of royal children arguably stole the show as they showcased their royal waves, with Louis holding his hands over his ears as the aircraft roared overhead.
However, at her own coronation in 1956, Queen Elizabeth II had a larger crowd around her and appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace more than once, much to the public's delight. Charles and his sister Princess Anne, who was just two at the time, joined her, as did her husband Philip. She also had her Maids of Honour and members of her Royal household with her.
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