An hour-by-hour schedule for King Charles III's historic coronation day
CTV
King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to be crowned in a history-making ceremony at Westminster Abbey. CTVNews.ca offers an hour-by-hour breakdown of what to expect on Saturday.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to be crowned on Saturday morning in a history-making ceremony at London’s Westminster Abbey, one that is respecting ancient traditions while taking steps toward a modern era.
The coronation at the Abbey, the scene of every coronation since 1066, is also expected to be markedly less extravagant than that of Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1953.
“It was agreed in the early stages of planning that it would not be possible to close the Abbey for five months to build the extra seating to allow 8,000 people to attend, as had been the case for the Coronation of the late Queen Elizabeth, due to cost and challenges of installing new seating within this ancient building, and the impact it would have on the Abbey’s regular programme,” King Charles’ coronation organizer Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, said in a statement.
The hour-by-hour breakdown follows:
6:00 a.m. (1 a.m. EDT): Viewing areas will open along the procession route. The U.K. government has discouraged the public to arrive before then.
7:15 a.m. (2:15 a.m. EDT): Between 7:15 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., guests invited to the service will begin to arrive at the security checkpoints.
7:30 a.m. (2:30 EDT): Doors at Westminster Abbey open to the general congregation.