King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla have arrived at Buckingham Palace as the world awaits his historic Coronation.
The monarch smiled to huge crowds who cheered wildly and waved flags as he was swept into his central London home at 9am – 90 minutes before the start of the procession.
On the short journey from Clarence House, the King, 74, looked solemn and thoughtful at times, in what is undoubtedly the biggest day of his life.
A mile away from the Palace, Westminster Abbey is rammed with the great and good from Britain and around the world as Charles III’s day of destiny finally arrived and he will be crowned King today.
More than 100million people around the world are about to watch the historic first coronation of a British monarch in 70 years – with an estimated 2million people on the streets of London to watch history unfold.
The monarch had been heir since the age of three, and is now ready to finally embrace his day of destiny with the woman he loves by his side. VIP guests queued for a mile from 6am to get one of the prime 2,300 seats inside. The Abbey was full at just before 9am.
Stars seen taking their seats in the church included Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Fry, Nick Cave and magician Dynamo, while Dame Emma Thompson gave a thumbs up in excitement.
They will watch Charles be crowned in a Christian ceremony that dates back for 1,000 years on a day dripping with glorious displays of pageantry. The two-hour service, pared back from his mother’s in 1953, is a pivotal moment in the history of the Royal Family will balance ancient tradition and a future in the 21st century.
It will also shine a spotlight on Britain’s place on the world stage in the UK’s biggest ceremonial military operation since the state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 with 7,000 servicemen and women marching with the King and Queen.