As preparations for the upcoming coronation ceremony are underway, exciting news has emerged regarding the route that the newly crowned King and Queen Consort will take. In a departure from tradition, the royal couple will be travelling in the historic and bumpy gold coach for one leg of their journey, adding a touch of pomp and circumstance to an already grand occasion. Read on to discover more about this exciting twist in the coronation procession.
On Saturday 6 May 2023, King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will make their journey to Westminster Abbey for the King’s coronation in two gilded coaches. The outbound journey will be taken in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, a coach that was first used by Queen Elizabeth at the State Opening of Parliament in 2014. The newer coach is equipped with air conditioning and shock absorbers to ensure a comfortable ride for the royal couple. The return journey to Buckingham Palace will be made in the historic Gold State Coach, famously described by the Queen in 1953 as “horrible” due to its uncomfortable leather straps suspension. The four-tonne coach can only move at walking pace and is pulled by eight horses.
The royal procession will be accompanied by The Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry and will travel down The Mall via Admiralty Arch, take the south side of Trafalgar Square, then go along Whitehall and Parliament Street, take the east and south sides of Parliament Square to Broad Sanctuary, before arriving at the Abbey. It is thought that the King and Queen Consort have chosen to limit the use of the older coach because of their back pain, although the palace has declined to comment.
The coronation service will begin at 11am on Saturday 6 May and will feature the crown jewels, including the Sovereign’s Orb, the Golden Spurs, bracelets known as Armills, two maces, five symbolic swords, the Sovereign’s Ring, the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, and the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Dove. Camilla will wear the modified Queen Mary’s Crown and hold the Queen Consort’s Rod with Dove, while Charles will be crowned with the 17th-century St Edward’s Crown which will be resized to fit his head.
Camilla will also hold the Queen Consort’s Sceptre with Cross, which was originally made for the coronation of Mary of Modena, Queen Consort of James II in 1685 and is inlaid with rock crystals. She will receive the Queen Consort’s Ring, a ruby in a gold setting made for the coronation of King William IV and Queen Adelaide in 1831, and used by three further Queens Consort – Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, and the Queen Mother.
The Gold State Coach will be the centrepiece of the much larger procession from Westminster Abbey back to Buckingham Palace on coronation day. This procession will feature hundreds of members of the Armed Forces from the UK, the Commonwealth and the British Overseas Territories, as well as the Sovereign’s Bodyguard and Royal Watermen. The late Queen Elizabeth’s outward procession was 1.6 miles long, but her return procession was five miles, taking her down Piccadilly, along Oxford Street and Regent Street and Haymarket. It featured 16,000 participants and was designed to allow the Queen to be seen by as many people as possible.
The coronation will be a grand event steeped in history and tradition, and the coaches chosen by the King and Queen Consort reflect the smaller procession to the Abbey and the larger procession back to Buckingham Palace. Although the Gold State Coach may be uncomfortably suspended on leather straps and can only move at walking pace, it adds to the majesty and stateliness of this great royal procession. The route chosen is a tried and tested one that has been used for many royal occasions, ensuring that the coronation of King Charles III will be a memorable and regal event for all who witness it.
As we await the highly anticipated coronation of the King and Queen Consort, the news of their chosen route and mode of transportation has definitely added to the excitement. While the use of the bumpy gold coach may come as a surprise to some, it serves as a nod to tradition and adds to the regal aura of the ceremony. The confirmation of the route highlights the importance and significance of this historic event, and we cannot wait to witness the grandeur and spectacle that the coronation of the King and Queen Consort is sure to bring.
