Coronation procession route, what to look out for and when

Thousands of people are lining the streets of central London hoping to catch a glimpse of King Charles III as he travels between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey before and after his coronation.

Soldiers and royal footmen, marching bands and ornate coaches, magnificent horses and an Irish wolfhound called Seamus are all taking part in the UK military's largest ceremonial operation for 70 years - and it will all end with a spectacular fly-past. Here is what to look out for.

The King and Queen Consort Camilla left the Buckingham Palace in the King's Procession - the first of two processions on Saturday.

They set off at 10:20 BST in the horse-drawn Diamond Jubilee State Coach, created in 2012 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's 60th year on the throne.

The coach, accompanied by the Sovereign's Escort of the Household Cavalry, passed a guard of honour, comprising about 160 members of the three armed services. At the front of the procession are two Drum Horses called Atlas, from the Life Guards, and Apollo, from the Blues and Royals.

The procession heads down The Mall to Trafalgar Square, then along Whitehall and Parliament Street before turning into Parliament Square and Broad Sanctuary.

The 1.42-mile route is lined by 1,000 members of the military from the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

The service and both processions will be broadcast online, on TV and radio but you can also follow events on big screens in London's Hyde Park, Green Park, St James's Park and sites around the country.

If you are planning to watch the processions up close along The Mall and Whitehall, viewing areas opened at 06:00 on Saturday 6 May and are expected to get very busy. The big screen areas in Hyde Park opened at 05:00.

The Royal British Legion is providing a 100-strong guard of honour to line the procession route in Parliament Square.

The standard-bearers will represent the legion and seven other associated armed forces charities: the Royal Naval Association; Royal Marines Association; Army Benevolent Fund; Air Forces Association; Royal Commonwealth and Ex Services League; Merchant Navy Association; and SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity.

Almost 4,000 armed forces veterans and NHS and social care workers have been invited to watch from specially built grandstands in front of Buckingham Palace.

The 200-strong procession is expected to arrive at the abbey at 11:00 for the service.

At 12:01, about halfway through the two-hour coronation ceremony, gun salutes involving 400 personnel will mark the moment St Edward's Crown is placed on the King's head.

Twenty-one rounds will be fired at 11 locations around the UK - including Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast - and on Royal Navy ships at sea.

And in London, a 62-round salute will fire at the Tower of London, along with a six-gun salvo on Horse Guards Parade.

After the ceremony, the King and Queen Consort will travel back to the palace in the ornate Gold State Coach as part of the Coronation Procession - a much larger ceremonial display than the morning's procession.

The Gold State Coach, which is covered in gold leaf and carved decorations, was first used by King George III to travel to the State Opening of Parliament in 1762 and has been used at every coronation in the last 200 years.

The panels feature Roman gods, and sculptures of cherubs and tritons ride on the roof and over the wheels.

Queen Elizabeth II, who used the coach for her coronation as well as jubilee celebrations, said it might look luxurious but it was a horrible, uncomfortable ride because of the lack of suspension.

It weighs four tonnes and is pulled at walking pace by eight grey horses, with a mounted rider or postilion for each pair.

Alongside the coach, walk eight grooms, six footmen and four Yeomen of the Guard.

Also present will be members of the Royal Watermen, who traditionally rowed the Royal Barges up and down the River Thames between the royal palaces, but now have ceremonial duties.

The Princess Royal will be among those riding behind the coach, in her role as Gold Stick and Colonel The Blues and Royals - a ceremonial bodyguard entrusted with the safety of the sovereign.

The Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, will be in the first carriage behind the coach with other "working royals" - those family members who carry out official duties on behalf of the King - in carriages and cars following them.

The coach will leave the abbey and travel along Whitehall, past the statue of King Charles I at Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and up The Mall to the palace.

The marching bands will keep a beat of 108 paces a minute, which is slightly slower than a standard quick march of 116 paces a minute, because of the speed of the heavy coach.

At the head of the procession - about a mile in front - will be Brigade Major Lieutenant Colonel James Shaw riding Sovereign's Shadow.

He will lead more than 4,000 members of the armed forces from the UK and across the Commonwealth, 19 bands and flag-bearers, formed into eight groups. A full list of all those taking part is at the end of this page.

Members of the RAF will be in group three, the Army will be represented in the next three groups - with the Royal Lancers in group four - and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines in group seven.

The Irish Guards with their mascot Seamus, the Irish wolfhound, will be part of the final group ahead of the coach, which also includes the Welsh Guards and Scots Guards.

The Ministry of Defence says it will be the largest military procession in London since more than 16,000 people took part in Queen Elizabeth II's coronation procession in 1953 - and that as the front of the procession reaches the palace, the back will still be at Downing Street.

The coach is expected to make the 1.42 mile journey in about 30 minutes.

Once the procession has passed, members of the public will be allowed to move up The Mall to fill the area around the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace.

In a coronation first, all those marching will form up in the palace gardens where they will give a Royal Salute and three cheers to the King and Queen Consort at 13:45 BST.

The King and other members of the Royal Family will then proceed to the front balcony of Buckingham Palace to greet the public crowds assembled in The Mall.

They will then move to the palace balcony, with other family members for a fly-past at about 14:30 BST.

The six-minute fly-past will include more than 60 aircraft from the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Among the aircraft on display will be helicopters, Spitfires, the new P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, F-35B Lightning II jets, the new Envoy IV CC1 and transport aircraft. They will be followed by the Red Arrows display team.

If you are not in London, you might catch a glimpse of some of the aircraft as they approach from Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex - or after the fly-past as they disperse over Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Mounted Household Troops: Brigade Major's Retinue • Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry • The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery

Representatives from the Commonwealth nations: Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland • Highland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland • Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland • Representative Detachments of Realm and Commonwealth Forces: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Cameroon, Eswatini, Fiji, Gabon, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, St Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Zambia

Representative Detachments of British Overseas Territories: Falkland Islands Defence Force, Cayman Islands Regiment, Turks and Caicos Regiment, Royal Montserrat Defence Force

Representatives from Royal Air Force: Royal Air Force Regiment • Bands of the Royal Air Force • Royal Air Force Halton • Royal Auxiliary Air Force • Royal Air Force Cranwell

Representatives from the Army:

Army Royal Armoured Corps: Head of Arms and Services • Colonel Royal Armoured Corps • The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabineers and Greys) • 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards • The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) • The Royal Dragoon Guards • British Army Bands Colchester and Sandhurst • The King's Royal Hussars • The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own) • Royal Tank Regiment • The Light Dragoons • The Royal Wessex Yeomanry • The Royal Yeomanry • Scottish and Northern Irish Yeomanry • The Queen's Royal Yeomanry • Corps Sergeant Major, Royal Armoured Corps

Army Corps and Infantry: Corps Colonels of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Royal Corps of Engineers, Royal Corps of Signals, Infantry • Royal Corps of Engineers • Royal Regiment of Artillery • Royal Regiment of Scotland • Royal Corps of Signals • Duke of Lancaster's Regiment • Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment • Royal Anglian Regiment • Royal Regiment of Fusiliers • Bands of the Rifles and Brigade of Gurkhas • Mercian Regiment • Royal Yorkshire Regiment • Royal Irish Regiment • Royal Welsh • Royal Gurkha Rifles • Parachute Regiment • Rangers • The Rifles • Corps Sergeant Majors of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Corps of Royal Engineers, Royal Corps of Signals, Infantry

Army Corps: Corps Colonels of the Army Air Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Logistics Corps, Adjutant General's Corps, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Intelligence Corps • Army Air Corps • Royal Army Medical Corps • Royal Logistic Corps • Adjutant General's Corps • Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers • Royal Army Veterinary Corps • British Army Bands Catterick and Tidworth • Royal Army Dental Corps • Small Arms Service Corps • Royal Army Physical Training Corps • Intelligence Corps • Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst • Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps • Royal Army Physical Training Corps • Corps Sergeant Majors of the Army Air Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Logistics Corps, Adjutant General's Corps, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Intelligence Corps • Royal Army Chaplain's Department • Honourable Artillery Company • Royal Bermuda Regiment • Royal Gibraltar Regiment

Representatives from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines: Royal Navy • Royal Navy Reserve • Bands of the Royal Marines • Royal Marines • Royal Marines Reserve • Commando Training Centre Royal Marines and Britannia Royal Naval College • Service Chiefs: Commander Strategic Command • Vice Chief of the Defence Staff • Chief of the Air Staff, Chief of the General Staff • Chief of the Naval Staff • Chief of the Defence Staff • Command Warrant Officer Strategic Command • Corps Sergeant Major Royal Marines • Warrant Officer to the Royal Air Force • Army Sergeant Major • Warrant Officer to the Royal Navy • Senior Enlisted Adviser to the Chiefs of Staff Committee

Representatives from the Household divisions:

Massed Foot Guards' Bands: Coldstream Guards • Irish Guards • Welsh Guards • Scots Guards • Grenadier Guards

Foot Guards: Regimental Lieutenant Colonel Coldstream Guards • Regimental Lieutenant Colonel Irish Guards • Regimental Lieutenant Colonel London Guards • Regimental Lieutenant Colonel Welsh Guards • Regimental Lieutenant Colonel Scots Guards • Regimental Lieutenant Colonel Grenadier Guards • Commanding Officer Coldstream Guards • Commanding Officer Irish Guards • Commanding Officer London Guards • Commanding Officer Welsh Guards • Commanding Officer Scots Guards • Commanding Officer Grenadier Guards • The King's Colour Coldstream Guards • The King's Colour Irish Guards • The King's Colour Welsh Guards • The King's Colour Scots Guards • The King's Colour Grenadier Guards • Coldstream Guards • Irish Guards • Welsh Guards • Scots Guards • Grenadier Guards • Regimental Sergeant Major Coldstream Guards • Regimental Sergeant Major Irish Guards • Regimental Sergeant Major London Guards • Regimental Sergeant Major Welsh Guards • Regimental Sergeant Major Scots Guards • Regimental Sergeant Major Grenadier Guards

Household Cavalry Regiment (Dismounted): Commanding Officer Household Cavalry Regiment • The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) • The Life Guards • Regimental Corporal Major Household Cavalry Regiment • King's Gurkha Orderly Officer (x2)

The King's Body Guards and Royal Watermen: The King's Bargemaster • Officer (x4) • Chief Yeoman Warder with Mace • Colour (x2) • Standard • Yeomen Warders of HM Fortress the Tower of London (x12) • Royal Watermen (x12) • The King's Bodyguard the Yeomen of the Guard (x12) • The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, the Royal Company of Archers (x12) • His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms (x12) • Yeoman Gaoler with Axe • Messenger Sergeant Major • Officer (x2) • Royal Canadian Mounted Police • Staff Captain Headquarters Household Division • Major General Commanding the Household Division • ADC to the Major General Commanding the Household Division

Led by: 1st Division of The Sovereign's Escort • 2nd Division of The Sovereign's Escort

Drawn by: Eight Grey Horses

Carrying: His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Queen

Flanked by: Representatives of the Realm Armed Forces • Royal Waterman (x4) • Grooms (x8) • Palace Footmen (x6) • Yeoman of the Guard (x4) • Brakeman • Escort Commander • Field Officer of the Escort • Standard Coverer • Sovereign's Standard of The Life Guards • Trumpeter • The Princess Royal, Gold Stick and Colonel The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) • Colonel Coldstream Guards • Master of the Horse • Gold Stick in Waiting and Colonel The Life Guards • Silver Stick Adjutant • Field Officer in Brigade Waiting • Silver Stick • Crown Equerry • 3rd Division of The Sovereign's Escort

Royal Family members:

Carriage: of The Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Prince Louis of Wales

Carriage: The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, The Lady Louise Mountbatten Windsor, Earl of Wessex

Carriage: The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence

State Car: The Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra

Followed by: 4th Division of The Sovereign's Escort

Written and produced by Dominic Bailey and Chris Clayton, design by Lilly Huynh and Zoe Bartholomew, illustration by Jenny Law.

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