London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Buckingham Palace reveals details about King’s coronation weekend

Buckingham Palace reveals details about King’s coronation weekend

The celebrations will include a star-studded concert at Windsor Castle

A balcony appearance at Buckingham Palace, a concert featuring global stars and a day of volunteering will all form part of celebrations for the King’s coronation.

The palace has revealed new details on plans for events that will take place over the coronation weekend from Saturday May 6 to Monday May 8.

The coronation of the King and Queen Consort will take place at Westminster Abbey on the Saturday morning, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

According to the palace it will be “a solemn religious service, as well as an occasion for celebration and pageantry”.

The service will “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry”.

Charles and Camilla will arrive at the Abbey in procession from Buckingham Palace, known as “the King’s procession”, and after the service they will return to the palace in a larger ceremonial procession, known as “the coronation procession”, joined by other members of the royal family.

At the palace, Charles and Camilla will be joined by family members on the balcony to conclude the day’s ceremonial events.

The palace has not said exactly which family members will appear in the coronation procession or on the balcony.

The UK will get an extra bank holiday for the King’s coronation

Sunday will see “global music icons and contemporary stars” descend on Windsor Castle for the coronation concert which will be broadcast live on the BBC.

Several thousand members of the public will be selected to receive a pair of free tickets through a national ballot held by the BBC.

The audience will also include volunteers from the King and Queen Consort’s charity affiliations.

The show will feature a world-class orchestra playing interpretations of musical favourites fronted by “some of the world’s biggest entertainers, alongside performers from the world of dance”, the palace said.

The performances will be supported by staging and effects located on the castle’s east lawn and will also include a selection of spoken word sequences delivered by stars of stage and screen.

The Coronation Choir, a diverse group that will be created from the nation’s keenest community choirs and amateur singers from across the UK, such as refugee choirs, NHS choirs, LGBTQ+ singing groups and deaf signing choirs, will also make an appearance.

A new documentary exploring the formation of The Coronation Choir will tell the stories of the people representing the many faces and voices of the country.

The Coronation Choir will appear alongside The Virtual Choir, made up of singers from across the Commonwealth, for a special performance on the night.

The palace said the centrepiece of the coronation concert, dubbed “lighting up the nation”, will see the country join together in celebration as landmarks across the UK are lit up using projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations.

Meanwhile, people are invited to gather for a “coronation big lunch” on Sunday, overseen and organised by the Big Lunch team at the Eden Project.

The Queen Consort has been patron of the Big Lunch since 2013.

The palace said thousands of events are expected to take place in streets, gardens and parks in every corner of the UK.

Monday, a bank holiday, has been set aside for volunteering and is being billed as “the big help out”.

Organised by The Together Coalition and a wide range of partners such as The Scouts, the Royal Voluntary Service and faith groups from across the UK, the big help out aims to highlight the positive impact volunteering has on communities.

The palace said in tribute to the King’s public service, the big help out “will encourage people to try volunteering for themselves and join the work being undertaken to support their local areas”.

The aim of the day is to use volunteering to bring communities together and create a lasting volunteering legacy from the coronation weekend.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said tens of thousands of people are expected to visit London to experience the coronation.

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said the coronation is “a huge milestone in the history of the UK and Commonwealth”, adding that the weekend of events will bring people together to celebrate “the mixture of tradition and modernity, culture and community that makes our country great”.

Arrangements for the coronation, like those for the Queen’s funeral in September, will be diplomatically sensitive, given the likely presence of leaders from scores of different countries.

It could also pose difficulties for the royal family following the release of the Duke of Sussex’s controversial memoir, with a question mark over whether Harry and wife Meghan will be among those attending.

During an interview with Tom Bradby on ITV, Harry was asked if he will come to the coronation if he is invited, and he said: “There’s a lot that can happen between now and then.

Meanwhile, the scale of the event could be even larger than the Queen’s funeral in September, partly because overseas leaders will have more time to plan their travel.

The funeral saw leaders from most countries receive an invitation.

But representatives from Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, Syria, Venezuela and Afghanistan were not invited, while Iran, North Korea and Nicaragua were invited only at ambassadorial level.

The Government has already launched a consultation on extending pub opening hours throughout the coronation weekend.

That could mean pubs in England and Wales being allowed to stay open until 1am on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×