As it happened: King Charles III is crowned sovereign at moving ceremony at Westminster Abbey

King Charles III is crowned with St Edward’s Crown by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

King Charles III sits as he receives The St Edward’s Crown during the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey.Credit: AP

“God save the King,” shouted the Archbishop to the congregation, prompting the musical Wiener Philharmoniker Fanfare.

The St Edward’s Crown was made for the last King Charles - King Charles II in 1661.

The St Edward’s Crown carried into the abbey.Credit: AP

The crown is topped with an orb and a cross, symbolising the Christian world, and is made up of a solid gold frame set with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, topazes and tourmalines.

The crown has a velvet cap with an ermine band. St Edward’s Crown was worn by Queen Elizabeth II at the coronation in 1953.

It is normally on show at the Tower of London.

And that is where we will conclude our live coverage of the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla.

King Charles and Queen Camilla on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.Credit: Getty

Thank you so much for your company, and we do hope you enjoyed our updates.

We’ll leave you with this brilliant take from culture editor-at-large Michael Idato, who writes that watching the Windsors is like watching hypnotic soap opera.

Read more: A royal soap opera glittering with absurdity, but strangely mesmerising

First Nations ABC host Stan Grant says Australia must reckon with the devastating impact of the Crown on Indigenous people during colonisation as the country watches today’s coronation from afar.

“When you talk about the Crown being above politics, it is not above politics for us,” Grant said during a round table discussion on the ABC.

“Because the symbol of that Crown represented the invasion, the theft of land, and in our case, the exterminating war which next year will mark 200 years.

Grant was responding to federal Liberal MP Julian Leeser, a constitutional monarchist, who said coronation was a chance to celebrate the stable monarchy, which he says allowed the country to become a unified democracy.

“I am for a reconciled Australia, and I am for an Australia that celebrates our Indigenous [people], but this is a great strength of our country as well,” he said.

Giving you a sneak peek at the Sun-Herald and Sunday Age’s front pages for tomorrow marking the historic occasion.

The Sun-Herald’s front page on Sunday, 7 May, 2023.Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald

The Sunday Age’s front page for Sunday, May 6, 2023, marking the coronation of King Charles III.Credit: The Sunday Age

Just how different did the crowning of King Charles III look to that of his mother Elizabeth II 70 years earlier?

Watch below:

In a sign that the King is being well received, he and the Queen returned to the balcony to wave once more to the crowd below.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.Credit: Getty

They were cheered and applauded when they reappeared for their encore.

And the flypast has been staged over The Mall and Palace to thousands of well-wishers, many of whom waved Union Jack flags and cheered as the King and Queen departed the balcony.

People gather at the Admiralty Arch and The Mall following the coronation ceremony.Credit: Reuters

The national anthem was played, concluding the public events for the day.

The King and Queen, still wearing their crowns, have appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace and were initially joined by the King’s pages, including Prince George for the military flypast which signals the end of the official coronation events.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla wave to the crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.Credit: AP

Crowds were let into The Mall ahead of the flypast, and they quickly filled the area in front of the palace, despite the poor weather.

Thousands fill The Mall for the King and Queen’s balcony appearance.Credit: Getty

They cheered the arrival of King and Queen, who were then joined by the rest of the working royals, including William, Catherine, Charlotte and Louis, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and Princess Anne.

There is no sign of Harry, who was reported to be planning a quick exit from his home country.

The flypast, due to last six minutes, will be scaled back because of the rain.

Well, this is certainly one way to mark the occasion when you’re not invited to the big event.

Australia’s longest-serving foreign minister and former high commissioner to the UK Alexander Downer has posted a photograph of himself, barefoot, with his arm around a life-sized cardboard cut-out of the King.

Alexander Downer with a cut-out of King Charles III.Credit: Twitter

The King and Queen have returned to Buckingham Palace, where they are being given a royal salute in the gardens by members of the UK and Commonwealth Armed Forces.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla receive the royal salute from gathered military personnel on the West Terrace of the Buckingham Palace gardens.Credit: Getty

They were given three cheers by the 4000-odd personnel and the sound of it was a wonderful roar that could be heard outside the palace walls.

Our Europe correspondent Rob Harris writes that the coronation of King Charles III was “superb and absurd.”

King Charles III looks on after being crowned with St Edward’s Crown.Credit: AP

“Sublime and ridiculous. Majestic and outrageous.

“But it is a weirdness that’s unique and, inarguably, embraced by millions.

“A once- or twice-in-a-lifetime occasion for most. It makes sense for an eccentric Britain, where loyalty to the Crown is what Americans place in their flag, but why it resonates beyond her shores is anyone’s guess.”

Read more: In an era of Uber, Netflix and apathy, King Charles’ coronation was superb and absurd