Coronation: Happy and glorious for a day, Britain rises to the occasion

Across the UK, the Brits have chosen to party like it’s 1953. Their beloved Queen is gone and it’s now the turn of the very patient Charles to have his moment in the sun.

Australian Petal Ashmole, 76, who moved from Perth to London when she was 18 to become a dancer with the Royal Ballet, is taking her King Charles spaniel, Winston, to the street party. Picture: Diana Maclean

It’s been 70 years since a newly crowned monarch last waved to crowds from the Gold State Coach, so most of Britain has no idea what a royal coronation is really like.

But it seems the nation is not going to die wondering. Across the UK, the Brits have chosen to party like it’s 1953. Their beloved Queen is gone and it’s now the turn of the very patient Charles to have his moment in the sun as the St Edward’s Crown is finally placed upon his head. After the grief of Queen Elizabeth’s passing in September, amid the revolving door of British prime ministers and a cost-of-living crisis, the coronation of King Charles III has finally given the UK a reason to smile.

Towns and suburbs from all corners of the realm are festooned in red, white and blue bunting in readiness for street parties where the royal subjects plan gorge on cucumber sandwiches and Pimms.

The palace will tell you this is a slimmed-down coronation ceremony, but don’t believe it. If the rehearsals are any guide, it will be a masterclass of British pomp and pageantry literally dripping with golden robes and carriages, sparkling ancient diamonds, soaring hymns and bizarre medieval traditions few understand but most love to watch.

There will also be palace intrigue. How will self-imposed royal outcast Prince Harry cope with standing in Westminster Abbey under the same roof as his father, stepmother and brother, all of whom he has attacked in a bitter campaign against his own family? Will the “spare” choose to make eye contact with estranged brother William, the heir, when they have not spoken since the Queen’s funeral service?

Charles, according to new polls, has won the hearts of Britons, many of whom once hoped the crown might pass directly to William after the Queen’s death.

His sister, Princess Anne, said this week she didn’t think Charles would be changed by the role, saying he was “committed” to public service and would “remain true”.“You know what you’re getting because he’s been practising for a bit,” she said.

Almost two-thirds of Britons think Charles will be good for the monarchy but how many will answer the call to pledge their own allegiance to the 74-year-old King in front of their televisions is uncertain. Archbishop Justin Welby will invite people across the UK and the Commonwealth to swear allegiance to the new King, and expects a “chorus of a million voices” when he asks them to “make their homage, in heart and voice, to their undoubted King, defender of all”.

Many of those most likely to swear allegiance out loud have been camping on the procession route leading from Buckingham Palace, where a tent city of ultra-royalists has been growing since Wednesday.

Tens of thousands are expected to line the short route between the palace and Westminster Abbey amid the largest security operation ever carried out in Britain, involving some 11,500 police, snipers and plain-clothed officers.

Laws were tightened this week to crack down on any trouble from expected protesters, including up to 1700 members of the British republican movement, who plan to stand along the route wearing yellow T-shirts and signs saying “Not My King”.

The first words Charles and Camilla will pass under as they ride in their carriage out of Buckingham Palace on Saturday night (AEST) will be “Happy and Glorious”, draped in huge letters on the Admiralty Arch at the end of the Mall.

The focus will also be on Prince William, the most popular living royal. William, whose eldest son, George, 9, will be page of honour, will kneel before his father and vow to be his “liege man of life and limb”.

Across the country, more than 3000 street parties are planned, including one in London’s King’s Road, where more than 100 King Charles spaniels will parade.

Australian Petal Ashmole, 76, who moved from Perth to London when she was 18 to become a dancer with the Royal Ballet, is taking her King Charles spaniel, Winston, to the street party.

“Absolutely I am going to take him, because, you know, to be honest, there really are no royal corgis anymore,” she said. “The Cavalier King Charles spaniel is now terribly popular … because their namesake is on the throne.”

Across London shops are overflowing with coronation souvenirs and merchandise of all shapes and sizes as Britons spend an estimated £76m ($142.4m) to buy up memories of the historic day. They are hoping the first coronation for seven decades is one to remember.