King Charles's coronation: How the day of pageantry and protests unfolded

King Charles and Queen Camilla were crowned during a historic coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey

·1-min read
Britain's King Charles III wearing the Imperial state Crown, and Britain's Queen Camilla wearing a modified version of Queen Mary's Crown wave from the Buckingham Palace balcony after viewing the Royal Air Force fly-past in central London on May 6, 2023, after their coronations. - The set-piece coronation is the first in Britain in 70 years, and only the second in history to be televised. Charles will be the 40th reigning monarch to be crowned at the central London church since King William I in 1066. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
The newly crowned king and queen wave to crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. (Getty)

King Charles and Queen Camilla have been crowned in a historic coronation service.

Around 2,200 people, including the Royal Family, celebrities and faith leaders, watched on from inside Westminster Abbey for the first such ceremony in 70 years.

Charles and senior members of his family then made their way to the Buckingham Palace balcony for a flypast from the Red Arrows.

Amid all the pomp and ceremony inside the abbey, on the streets of London anti-royalists expressed their disapproval. A small number of protesters were arrested and there were reports of rival demonstrators clashing in central London. Human rights groups have criticised the heavy-handed response.

The Metropolitan Police said a total of 52 arrests had been made for affray, public order offences, breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance around the coronation

Yahoo held a live Q&A below to mark the historic occasion. Read below for a full recap of how the day unfolded and all the answers to your burning questions.

Live updates
  • Harriet Sinclair

    Goodbye and thank you for following...

    This brings our coronation liveblog coverage to an end. You can catch up on all the best bits of the day, and everything you've missed, from our existing coverage.

  • Harriet Sinclair

    Who's who in the coronation Buckingham Palace balcony line-up?

    As members of the Royal Family appeared alongside the King and Queen on the Buckingham Palace balcony following the coronation, here's a guide to who's who in the new 'slimmed down monarchy'.

  • Harriet Sinclair

    Quiz: How much do you remember from the King's coronation?

    How closely did you pay attention to the main talking points in King Charles's coronation?

  • Harriet Sinclair
  • Harriet Sinclair

    Q: The shambles that was Will and Kate’s visit to the colonies shows that, to them, the monarchy is more of a blemish than a boon on Britain's reputation. How much more evidence do we need that Britain is clinging on to an archaic fairy tale that nobody respects? (Peter, via email)

    A: Without a doubt, the monarchy is not an institution that commands universal respect – and over the course of its existence it possibly never has, although once it could have counted on assumed deference and the religious authority of the church to shore itself up from dissent. William and Kate’s tour of the Caribbean last year certainly highlighted the ways in which the framework of the British monarchy is based around assumptions of deference and hierarchy that are no longer compatible with the modern world. Equally, the continuing move towards republicanism in some of the realms, like Jamaica, shows that whatever it is the Royal Family has been doing isn’t going to work for much longer in many countries. They are tasked with either innovating their approach, or letting go entirely of overseas territories. EM

  • Harriet Sinclair

    A top question on Google: How do you get the John Lewis coronation bear?

    A. The £15 Coronation Lewis Bear from John Lewis has been one of the most-wanted souveniers. It sold out incredibly fast, with one selling every minute on launch day earlier this year. While it was restocked earlier this week, it’s currently sold out. However, you can sign up to be alerted when it comes back in stock. Similar bears are still available at M&S and Harrods.

  • Harriet Sinclair
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    Q: Why did he not withdraw to private life when he remarried? (Barbara, via email)

    A: There would certainly have been a time in relatively recent history when an heir apparent would have stepped out of the line of succession in the circumstances Charles and Camilla found themselves given the monarch’s role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. However, society has become far more secular in recent decades, with official data showing those in the UK identifying themselves as Christian has fallen below 50% for the first time. While marrying a divorced woman whose first husband is still alive is antithetical to Christian teaching, it would also have seemed old fashioned and out of step to enforce the abdication of Charles from the line of succession, when so many people in the UK are divorced themselves. And don’t forget, the Church of England was initially created by Henry VIII, who broke with Rome so he could divorce and remarry. EM

  • Harriet Sinclair

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    From 1948 to 2023, a look at the King through each year of his life.