King Charles shortens procession for coronation

King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort will take a shortened procession after the coronation on May 6 with the journey being slashed to less than half of the length of the route used by the late Queen Elizabeth

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King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort will have a shorter procession after the coronation
King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort will have a shorter procession after the coronation

King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort will take a shortened procession route after the coronation next month.

The monarch will be crowned in a glittering ceremony in London and now details of the big day have been revealed and it shows the journey between Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace will be greatly reduced when compared to his mother Queen Elizabeth's procession after her coronation in 1953.

The king and queen consort will depart Buckingham Palace in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach - built to celebrate the late Queen Elizabeth's anniversary in 2012 - and travel directly to Westminster Abbey.

After the ceremony, they will take the same route back to the palace in the Gold State Coach - which carried the late Queen on a tour of the city after she was crowned. Queen Elizabeth's outward procession was just 1.6 miles but the five-mile circuit after the coronation lasted two hours and travelled around Haymarket, Piccadilly, Hyde Park Corner and Oxford Street and included around 16,000 well-wishers who lined the streets to get a glimpse of the new monarch before she returned to the palace.

The decision for King Charles' route to be much shorter is said to have been taken for practical reasons.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: "The carriages chosen reflect the smaller procession to the Abbey and the larger procession back to Buckingham Palace. They were the personal choice of Their Majesties."

King Charles' procession will feature hundreds of members of the British Armed Forces as well as troops from the Commonwealth and the Sovereign's Bodyguard and Royal Watermen.

Other details of the ceremony release include confirmation of the royal jewels being used in the coronation - which will feature pieces including the Sovereign's Orb, the Golden Spurs, five symbolic swords, the Sovereign's Ring and the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross. Charles will wear the Imperial State Crown while Camilla will be crowned using the modified Queen Mary's Crown.

She will hold the Queen Consort's Rod with Dove and will receive the Queen Consort's Ring - a piece which was made for the 1831 coronation of King William IV and Queen Adelaide. It has been used by three previous Queens Consort - Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, and the Queen Mother.