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Coronation timetable: See di full guide on how things go go on Coronation day

86543389 King Charles III

Fri, 5 May 2023 Source: BBC

Millions of pipo across di UK and beyond dey prepare to celebrate di coronation of King Charles III - one ogbonge ceremony wey dey combine religious service plus pageantry.

Dem go hold am for Westminster Abbey on 6 May and d King, wey dem go crown along wit Camilla, di Queen Consort, go be di 40th reigning monarch dem don crown dia since 1066.

Di day of splendour and formality go feature customs wey don dey happun for more than 1,000 years. Dis na how e go happun

Di formal celebrations go start wit procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey wit viewing areas along di route wey go open for 06:00 BST.

Public access to sites along The Mall and Whitehall go be on a first-come, first-serve basis, dem go direct pipo to di official screening site for Hyde Park, Green Park and St James's Park once dem don full.

Dem go erect stands for invited guests, including armed forces' veterans and NHS and social care staff, outside Buckingham Palace.

Just under 200 members of di armed forces - most dey come from di Sovereign Escort of di Household Cavalry - wey go take part for di procession to Westminster Abbey go start to gada on Saturday morning.

Another 1,000 service personnel go line di route, but di overall procession go dey much smaller pass im equivalent for 1953 wen oda royal families and Commonwealth prime ministers dey among pipo wey take part.

Procession go start

Di procession go start off from Buckingham Palace for 10:20 BST (05:20 EDT) dey move along The Mall to Trafalgar Square, then down Whitehall and Parliament Street before dem go turn to Parliament Square and Broad Sanctuary to reach di Great West Door of Westminster Abbey.

For one break from tradition, King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla go dey for di Diamond Jubilee State Coach rather than di older Gold State Coach, wey dey more uncomfortable.

Westminster Abbey arrival

E dey expected say di procession go arrive for di abbey shortly before 11:00, wit di King likely to wear military uniform instead of di more traditional breeches and silk stockings wey oda kings before am don wear.

King Charles go enta through di Great West Door and waka through di nave until im go reach di central space for di abbey.

Procession wey make up of faith leaders and representatives, and representatives from some Commonwealth kontri go dey front of di King as dem go carry di flags of dia kontri and governors general and prime ministers go accompany dem. Dis go include UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, wey go also give a reading later for di service.

Di ceremony suppose start by 11:00 and na music wey di King select, go punctuate am wit 12 newly commissioned pieces, including one by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Greek Orthodox music in memory of di King papa, Prince Philip.

Di King' grandson, Prince George, go dey among di pages for Westminster Abbey, alongside Camilla grandchildren, Lola, Eliza, Gus, Louis and Freddy. Some of wey go take part for di procession inside di abbey go carry di regalia ahead of di King, wit most items placed on di altar until dem need am during di ceremony.

Wetin be di regalia?

Di UK na, according to di Royal Family website, di only European kontri wey still dey use regalia - di symbols of royalty like di crown, orb and sceptres - for coronations.

Di individual objects dey symbolise different aspects of di service and responsibilities of di monarch.

Dem go present Charles wit di Sovereign Orb, di Sovereign Sceptre wit Cross, and di Sovereign Sceptre wit Dove and oda items during moments for di ceremony.

And dem go present Camilla wit di Queen Consort Rod wit Dove and di Queen Consort Sceptre wit Cross - mirroring di King sceptres.

E get plenti stages to di service, wey go last a little under two hours.

For di first time members of di public go get invite to pledge dia allegiance to di King, for one part of di service organisers dey call di "chorus of millions". In another departure from tradition, female clergy go play one prominent role and religious leaders from oda faiths go get an active part.

Stage one: Di recognition

Dem go present King Charles to "di people" - one tradition wey date back to Anglo-Saxon times. Standing beside di 700-year-old Coronation Chair, di King go turn to face di four sides of di abbey and dem go proclaim di "undoubted King" before di congregation is asked to show their homage and service.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby go make di first declaration but, for di first time, Lady of di Garter and di Lady of di Thistle go make di subsequent declarations - as dem dey represent di oldest orders of chivalry for England and Scotland respectively - and one George Cross holder from di armed forces go dey part of dem.

Di congregation go shout "God Save the King!" and trumpets go sound afta each recognition.

Believe dey say di Coronation Chair, dem also sabi as St Edward Chair or King Edward Chair, na di oldest piece of furniture for di UK wey dem still dey use for im original purpose. Na total of 26 monarchs dem don crown inside am.

Na di order of England King Edward I originally make am to enclose di Stone of Destiny, wey dem bin don take from near Scone for Scotland.

Dem return di stone - wey be ancient symbol of Scotland monarchy - to Scotland for 1996 but dem don transfer am back to London for use for di service.

During di Coronation, dem go place di oak chair for di centre of di historic medieval mosaic floor dem sabi as di "Cosmati pavement", in front of and facing di high altar, to emphasise di religious nature of di ceremony.

Stage two: Di oath

Just before di oath, di Archbishop of Canterbury go acknowledge di multiple faiths dem dey observe for di UK as im go say di Church of England "go seek to foster an environment wey pipo of all faith fit live freely".

Di archbishop go then administer di Coronation Oath - one legal requirement. Im go ask King Charles to confam say im go uphold di law and di Church of England during im reign, and di King go place im hand on di Holy Gospel and pledge to "perform and keep" those promise.

Di King go also take a second oath - di Accession Declaration Oath - dey tok say im be "faithful Protestant".

Stage three: Di anointing

Dem go remove di King ceremonial robe and im go sit for di Coronation Chair for dem to anoint am, emphasising di spiritual status of di sovereign wey also be di head of di Church of England.

Di archbishop go pour special oil from di Ampulla - one gold flask - on to di Coronation Spoon before im go anoint di King in di form of a cross on im head, breast and hands.

Dem make di Ampulla for Charles II coronation, but im shape be like one earlier version and one legend wey di Virgin Mary appear to St Thomas one Becket for di 12th Century and give am one golden eagle from which dem go anoint future kings of England.

Di Coronation Spoon dey much older, afta e survive Oliver Cromwell destruction of di regalia afta di English Civil War.

Dem produce di oil itself for di coronation using olives dem harvest from two groves on di Mount of Olives for Jerusalem, and consecrated for one special ceremony for di Church of di Holy Sepulchre for di city.

Dem go arrange one screen around di chair to block di King from view, because dem consider dis to be di most sacred part of di service.

Stage four: Di investiture

Literally dis na di crowning moment - wen di King go wear St Edward Crown for di only time for im life.

Dem name di crown afta one much earlier version dem make for di Anglo-Saxon king and saint, Edward di Confessor, wey dem tok say dem use for coronations afta 1220 until Cromwell don melt down.

Dem make am for King Charles II, wey want a crown wey be like di one Edward wear but even grander.

King Charles III go be di seventh monarch to wear am afta Charles II, James II, William III, George V, George VI and Elizabeth II - wey last wear am for her own coronation for 1953.

First dem go give di King one shimmering golden coat to wear wey dem dey call Supertunica, and dem go present am wit items including di Sovereign Orb, di Coronation Ring, di Sovereign Sceptre wit Cross and di Sovereign Sceptre wit Dove.

Then di archbishop go place St Edward Crown on di King head and di abbey bell go ring for two minutes, trumpets go sound and dem go fire gun salute across di UK.

Dem go fire one 62-round salute for di Tower of London, wit one six-gun salvo for Horse Guards Parade. Dem go fire twenty-one rounds for oda 11 locations around di UK, including Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, and ontop Royal Navy ships dem deploy.

Stage five: Di enthronement

Di final part of di ceremony go see di King take di throne. Di archbishop, bishops and oda peers of di kingdom fit even lift am into am.

Traditionally, one succession of royals and peers go then don pay homage as dem go kneel before di new king, swearing allegiance and kissing im right hand.

However, Prince William go be di only Royal Duke to kneel and pay homage to King Charles.

And instead of peers, for di first time di archbishop go invite pipo for di abbey, and those wey dey watch and listen at home, to pledge allegiance for wetin dem call a "new and significant moment for di tradition of di coronation" by organisers.

Di Queen Consort

Afta di homage, dem go Queen Camilla, crown and enthrone her for one simpler ceremony - although she no go need take an oath.

Dem go crown her wit wit Queen Mary Crown - originally made for Queen Mary coronation alongside George V - but dem don modify am to remove some of di arches and reset wit di Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds.

Communion

Di final part of di service go see di King and Queen take Holy Communion - di principal act of worship of di Christian church.

Dem fit find di full details of di service for di Coronation on di Church of England website.

Di departure

Di King and Queen Consort go descend from dia thrones and enta St Edward Chapel behind di high altar - here Charles go remove St Edward Crown and put on di Imperial State Crown before im go join di procession out of di abbey as dem dey play di national anthem.

Di King and Queen Consort go then return to Buckingham Palace along di reverse of di route wia dem pass come, dis time travelling for di 260-year-old Gold State Coach na im dem don use for every coronation since William IV's.

Reports suggest say di Prince of Wales' three children, princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte, go join di procession wit dia parents, for one carriage behind di Gold State Coach.

Nearly 4,000 members of di UK's armed forces go take part for wetin di Ministry of Defence don call di largest military ceremonial operation of im kind for one generation.

Representatives from Commonwealth kontris and di British Overseas Territories go join dem.

And di Royal British Legion go provide one 100-strong guard of honour to line di procession route for Parliament Square.

Di route na 1.42 miles (2.29km) from di abbey right into di palace grounds. Di King and Queen go receive one Royal Salute and three cheers from military personnel wey don dey on parade.

For 1953, di route pass four miles and e dey take 45 minutes for di whole procession to pass one single point.

Buckingham Palace fly-past

E don become customary since di coronation of Edward VII for 1902 for di new monarch to greet di crowds for The Mall from di Buckingham Palace balcony - di Queen mama join her, children and sister among oda royals as she watch one fly-past wey involvie hundreds of planes for 1953.

Buckingham Palace don confam say King Charles and Queen Camilla go continue di tradition - although dem neva confam which oda members of di Royal Family go dey involved.

Those there go witness di the end of di day public celebrations at 14:30, wit one six-minute fly-past involving members of di Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and culminating for one display by di Red Arrows.

Written and produced by Chris Clayton, design by Lilly Huynh and Zoe Bartholomew, illustration by Jenny Law

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Source: BBC