Prince Harry has arrived at Westminster Abbey ahead of his father’s coronation ceremony.

King Charles III will be crowned at midday, with the service beginning at 11am.

The King, along with Queen Camilla, left Buckingham Palace at 10.20am as he began the 1.3-mile journey to his coronation ceremony.

King Charles III will be crowned at midday as The Archbishop of Canterbury places the St Edward’s Crown on Charles’s head. Trumpets will sound and gun salutes will be fired across the UK.

 

The newly crowned King and Queen will receive a royal salute in the Palace gardens at 1.45pm before appearing on the balcony alongside members of the Royal Family for the flypast.

The Duke of Sussex has arrived at the Westminster Abbey to witness the occasion, without his wife Meghan Markle, who has remained in California.

The list of 2,300 invited guests reads like a who’s who of politics, showbusiness, world leaders and foreign royalty, with a sprinkling of everyday heroes and close family and friends of the King and his wife.

French President Emmanuel Macron was attending to show his “friendship, respect and esteem” for the UK, with US singer-songwriter Lionel Richie, The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades, and the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will give a reading, Charles’s grandson and future head of state Prince George will act as one of his pages of honour alongside three other schoolboys, while Camilla will be attended by her three grandsons and her great-nephew.

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Celebrity guests arrived at the abbey, including actress Dame Emma Thompson, musicians Lionel Richie and Nick Cave and a cheery-looking Ant and Dec, in their smart morning suits.

Inside the ancient abbey, the church buzzed with noise as the congregation filed in and took their seats hours before the ceremony was due to start.

A smiling Dean of Westminster, Dr David Hoyle, in his vivid red clerical robe was seen hurriedly carrying the holy oil for the anointing down the length of the abbey from the altar through the quire, clutching the precious ornate silver vessel in both hands.

As anticipation mounted among royal fans, a group of republicans were arrested around 7.30am more than four hours before the coronation service began.