Princess Anne is set to participate in King Charles III’s glittering procession to Buckingham Palace after he has been crowned.
As the newly crowned King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla travel down The Mall, the Princess Royal will ride on horseback behind their gold state coach.
King Charles has given his younger sister the prominent role during the day of coronation in recognition of her service, The Mirror reported.
“He is rewarding the Princess Royal for her loyalty and her unwavering devotion to duty,” the newspaper reported a royal source as saying about the king.
Hundreds of troops will take part in the procession through the streets of the capital, likely to be led by the Household Cavalry’s Life Guards and Blues and Royals.
The coronation coaches — in pictures
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King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will return from the coronation ceremony in the Gold State Coach. PA -
The Diamond Jubilee State Coach will take the royal couple to the coronation. PA -
Queen Elizabeth II in the Gold State Coach in Trafalgar Square on the way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey for her coronation in 1953. PA -
Queen Elizabeth returns to Buckingham Palace in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach after delivering the queen's speech in 2019. PA -
The Gold State Coach passes Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in June 2022. PA -
A hologram of Queen Elizabeth on the windows of the Gold State Coach during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in June 2022. AP -
The Gold State Coach on display at the Royal Mews in Buckingham Palace. PA -
A painting on the side of the Gold State Coach. PA -
A coat of arms on the Diamond Jubilee State Coach. PA -
Detail from a door panel in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach. PA -
Detail from the Diamond Jubilee State Coach. PA
The procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace will include armed forces personnel from across the Commonwealth and British overseas territories, and all UK armed forces, the newspaper reported.
Almost half of Britons think King Charles 'performing well'
Nearly half of Britons think the king is performing well as monarch, while the Princess of Wales is the most popular member of the royal family, polls suggest.
In a survey by polling company Ipsos, 49 per cent said King Charles was doing a good job as king, 32 per cent said he is doing neither a good nor bad job, and 9 per cent said he is doing a bad job.
In a separate Ipsos poll, about 57 per cent said they were “satisfied” with the way King Charles is doing his job, a decrease of eight percentage points since May 2022 when the same question was asked of his job as the Prince of Wales.
His son, Prince William, had a higher majority of public confidence, with 62 per cent saying they were satisfied with his job as the Prince of Wales.
Support for the Prince and Princess of Wales was clear, with Kate topping the list of royal family members most liked by the public.
Asked to select from a list which two or three members of the royal family they liked the most, the Princess of Wales was named in 38 per cent of answers.
Prince William followed his wife at 34 per cent, then any of the king’s grandchildren in third place at 27 per cent, and the Princess Royal in fourth at 25 per cent.
The UK prepares for the coronation of King Charles III — in pictures
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Royal enthusiasts at their impromptu campsite on The Mall in London, where they await the May 6 coronation procession of King Charles III. Getty -
Police officers patrol near Westminster Abbey as security is heightened for the coronation. AFP -
A telephone box in the village of Compton, Surrey, decorated with the ears, nose and crown of King Charles. AFP -
A royal fan takes a break after booking his spot on the coronation route in London. AP -
Town crier Tony Appleton takes the train into central London. AFP -
The drum major's state coat, adorned with the new CR III cypher, to be worn during the coronation. AFP -
Decorations are put up outside Number 10 Downing Street in London. AP -
A royal fan gets into the spirit of the coronation on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace. Reuters -
Yeoman of the Guard, the British sovereign's bodyguards, prepare to board a bus in London. Getty -
The UK's military held a full dress rehearsal for the coronation ceremony of King Charles III on Tuesday night. Reuters -
A royal fan sleeps at The Mall outside Buckingham Palace as the countdown to the coronation continues. Reuters -
Big Ben, in central London, is lit up during a rehearsal for the ceremony. PA -
An art installation in London depicts St Edward's Crown. AP -
Madame Tussauds in Sydney, Australia, unveils a waxwork figure of King Charles, alongside figures of Prince William and his wife Kate. Reuters -
Royalists have slept out on The Mall in London for days for the best view of the ceremony. EPA -
A knitted coronation-themed postbox topper in Isleworth, London. AP -
Tailor William Skinner with a ceremonial uniform on Savile Row, London, before the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, on May 6. Reuters -
Caroline de Guitaut, deputy surveyor of the King's Works of Art, adjusts the imperial mantle, a part of the coronation vestments, in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace. AFP -
A banner celebrating the coronation at Kings Cross Station in London. AP -
Upholsterer Beatrice Ekwalla works on restoring a throne chair for the coronation at the Marlborough House workshops in London. AFP -
Royal fan Margaret Tyler poses for a portrait in the living room of her home in north London. EPA -
Parliament Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle with the Speaker's State Coach. PA -
Violinist Adrianna Forbes-Dorant, 17, takes part in a rehearsal with the Brixton Chamber Orchestra for coronation performances in London. AP -
British Army soldiers rehearse at RAF Odiham for a coronation parade. Getty -
Shoppers browse souvenirs for the coronation of King Charles III outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Reuters -
Temporary stands are constructed on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace, central London. PA -
Members of the military pass by Westminster Abbey in central London during a night-time rehearsal for the coronation. AP -
Britain's Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, attends a Coronation Big Lunch at Westminster Abbey. Reuters -
The London Scottish Band in Burlington Arcade, London, at an unveiling of a celebratory installation to mark the coronation. PA -
A crown is placed on top of a flagpole on The Mall in London. Getty Images -
The official 'Crowning of the King' souvenir programme sits on a shop shelf in central London. AFP -
Workers prepare the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the big event. AFP -
Ardent monarchist Anita Atkinson sits among her 13,283 pieces of royal memorabilia at her Weardale farm near Bishop Auckland. AFP -
Members of the Household Cavalry take part in a rehearsal for the coronation at Buckingham Palace. Getty Images -
King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla will travel to the coronation in the modern Diamond Jubilee State Coach and return in the Gold State Coach, pictured. PA -
A potter works on chinaware produced for the coronation at a factory in Stoke-on-Trent. AFP -
The Coronation Chair, also known as St Edward's Chair or King Edward's Chair, at Westminster Abbey in London. AFP -
King Charles is presented with the first struck £5 coronation coin by Royal Mint chief executive Anne Jessopp and director Rebecca Morgan at Windsor Castle. Reuters -
The first struck £5 coronation coin. Reuters -
A member of staff at Fudge Kitchen puts up bunting in Windsor. PA -
A crown made by British milliner Justin Smith, created using 319 Scrabble tiles to mark the board game's 75th anniversary and the coronation. PA -
People browse a souvenir kiosk in London. Reuters -
The new commemorative 50p coin, part of the coronation coin collection. PA
King Charles received 20 per cent of mentions, putting him in the middle of the ranking.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were among the less popular family members, at 14 per cent and 10 per cent respectively, while Queen Consort Camilla attracted only 10 per cent of mentions by those surveyed.
Around 18 per cent said they liked no member of the royal family.
Ipsos polled more than 4,000 adults in three samples between March 31 and April 11.
Royal Mail reveals new stamps to commemorate king's coronation
Royal Mail is commemorating the coronation with four new stamps, depicting the king being crowned and celebrating the multifaith and biodiversity causes the monarch has made his life’s work.
The set is based on newly commissioned wood engravings by artist Andrew Davidson, and one imagines St Edward’s Crown being lowered on to King Charles’s head by the Archbishop of Canterbury at the moment of coronation.
Royal Mail is also applying for a special postmark to be stamped on letters in honour of the royal occasion.
It will read: “Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla 6 May 2023”, and run from April 28 until May 10.
On “The Coronation” stamp, the scene is printed in regal purple ink and set in front of Westminster Abbey, with fireworks appearing above, as a gun salute is fired and crowds watch the ceremony and celebrate at a street party.
The first-class stamp shows a likeness of the monarch holding the Sceptre with Dove and the Sceptre with Cross and sitting in the Coronation Chair.
The other three stamps are Diversity and Community, The Commonwealth, and Sustainability and Biodiversity.
King Charles has spent decades campaigning over climate change and the environment, is known for his commitment to promoting multifaith tolerance and is Head of the Commonwealth.
The first-class Diversity and Community stamp in blue ink features figures representing Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism and Royal Mail described it as being representative of all faiths and none.
The Coronation Chair — in pictures
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Conservator Krista Blessley works on the restoration of the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey in London, before the coronation of King Charles III. All photos: PA -
The chair was made around the year 1300 for King Edward I -
Experts debate about when the chair was first used to crown a monarch: It had featured in coronation ceremonies since 1308 but the first confirmed use was to crown Henry IV in 1399 -
Ms Blessley has spent four months meticulously preserving the flaking gilding and cleaning the chair’s surface using sponges and cotton swabs -
Much of the graffiti on the inside of the chair’s back rest was carved by Westminster schoolboys and visitors to Westminster Abbey during the 18th and 19th centuries -
Pieces of wood were also taken as souvenirs and during a 1914 bomb attack, thought to be the work of the suffragettes, a small corner was knocked off
The background scene captures both rural and urban Britain and the varied places of worship found around the UK including a church and a mosque.
The £2.20 ($2.74) Commonwealth stamp, in red ink, imagines a Commonwealth meeting, a representation of the Commonwealth Games, some of the flags of the Commonwealth nations, a scene depicting trade and commerce, and a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery.
On the £2.20 Sustainability and Diversity stamp, the ink is green and the engraving shows a beekeeper and a hedge-layer.
The backdrop is a natural landscape showing sustainable farming methods and featuring renewable sources of energy such as hydroelectric power and solar panels.
This is only the third time in history that Royal Mail has issued stamps to mark a coronation.
The previous two occasions were for King George VI in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
“Royal Mail is proud to issue this set of commemorative stamps which celebrate the coronation, and some of the causes which his majesty has championed throughout his many years of public service,” Simon Thompson, Royal Mail chief executive, said.
“This is only the third time we have issued coronation stamps and I am delighted that they mark the start of a new reign and a new chapter in our history.”
The stamps, designed by Atelier Works, are available to view, ahead of general release at the Postal Museum in London from April 28 as part of the exhibition The King’s Stamp.
They are now available to pre-order. A presentation pack including all four stamps is £7.50 and the stamps go on general sale on the coronation day of May 6.
