Happy Birthday, Princess Charlotte and Coronation Updates

Happy Birthday to Princess Charlotte, who turned eight today!

Kensington Palace released two photos to mark the occasion. The image shown above was taken by the Princess of Wales this weekend in Windsor. The second photo, released today, was shot by Millie Pilkington. It shows the Princess cuddling with Orla, the family’s cocker spaniel.  

Also this weekend, the Prince and Princess of Wales released a previously unseen photo to mark the couple’s twelfth anniversary on Saturday.

Matt Porteous shot the photo, which looks like it was taken when the family’s 2022 Christmas card photo was shot (seen below) last summer.

In the new photo, the Princess wears the same ensemble seen in the Christmas card picture shown above, and the photos released for Mothering Sunday in March. 

Here is the second image released for Mothering Sunday.

In the images, the Princess wears her ‘Mabel Shirt’ by MiH Jeans, long sold out.

She also had on her Superga Cotu Classic sneakers, $69 at Superga USA and Nordstrom.

And her Orelia Chain Huggie Hoops ($23), shown below when worn on another occasion.

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Also today, some coronation updates as rehearsals continue for the numerous events. Below, the scene at RAF Odiham this weekend as a full tri-service and Commonwealth rehearsal took place.

You’re spot-on if you noticed Séamus, the Regimental Mascot of the Irish Guards, in this photo.

These troops will take part in the second procession on Saturday, accompanying Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla from Westminster Abbey back to Buckingham Palace. 

Decorations are in place. Here you see central London.

There are even toppers for streetlights on the route for one of the processions.

There is no shortage of merchandise at retailers, although I have read about some shops selling out of specific items. 

Postal Boxes are being adorned.

These images were shot in Rhyl, north Wales. 

The media staging area on the Mall has come together. 

The BBC has released images of what the stage will look like for Sunday’s Coronation Concert. 

Below, preparations underway in Windsor today. 

We have more specifics on what King Charles will wear, including vestments worn by his mother, grandfather, and great-grandfather. 

Historic Coronation vestments from @RCT will be used by The King at the #Coronation Service.

His Majesty will reuse vestments which featured in the Coronation Services of King George IV in 1821, King George V in 1911, King George VI in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953:

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 1, 2023

Below, another view.

Above you see Caroline de Guitaut, the deputy surveyor of the King’s Works of Art for the Royal Collection Trust, adjusting the Coronation Vestments. On the left, the Supertunica (left) and on the right, the Imperial Mantle as displayed in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace.  More from the Monarchy’s website. 

In accordance with tradition, Their Majesties will wear two different sets of robes during the Coronation Service – the Robes of State and the Robes of Estate. Robes of State are worn on arrival at Westminster Abbey, and Robes of Estate are worn on departure, following the Coronation Service, and are traditionally more personalised in design.

The Queen Consort will wear a design by Bruce Oldfield on Saturday. Upon arrival at the Abbey, she will also wear the Robe of State originally made for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation in 1953. The new Robe of Estate she will wear when departing the Abbey was designed and hand embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. The Robe itself was made by Ede and Ravenscroft.  

The Order of Service has been released. 

More from this piece in The Times. 

The King’s coronation will “strike a different note” from his mother’s, acting as a “page-turning moment” that moves Britain on from the Elizabethan age, the Dean of Westminster has said.

The ceremony at Westminster Abbey will begin with the King telling a chorister that “I come not to be served, but to serve”. Instead of the traditional epistle from Peter’s gospel about the monarch being “supreme”, a reading from Colossians will pray for the King to be “fruitful in every good work” with God’s guidance.

The Very Rev David Hoyle, 65, said this struck a different tone from past coronations, adding: “The stress and accent of this service has shifted us slightly from obedience to the monarch to the monarch’s commitment to service and faithfulness.”

As far as what the Princess of Wales may wear, we have very little information. This Sunday Times story by Valentine Low offers news on the tiara/no-tiara front.   

Instead it is thought that she is planning to wear a floral headpiece.

The bold and innovative gesture would be a royal first, and bound to disappoint traditionalists looking forward to seeing the finest display of royal jewels for a generation.

There are also rumours within palace circles that no royal women will wear tiaras.

The dress code may be similar to that seen at Jubilee Church services.

Fortunately, we will see for ourselves in just a few days. 

Here are the immediate engagements leading into Saturday’s Coronation.

• Wednesday, May 3: There is a garden party at Buckingham Palace. The King and Queen will host the party; we do not know about other royal family members attending the event. 
• Friday, May 5: There is a luncheon today for heads of Commonwealth countries and a formal reception at Buckingham Palace for heads of state and other guests. We do not have confirmation the Prince and Princess of Wales will attend, but I would expect to see them at the evening reception. 

I thought it might be helpful to share the timings for the Coronation (times shown in local time and ET) as posted online in this inews story: 

• 6am/1am ET: Viewing areas open along the procession route.

• 9am/4am ET: Congregation to be seated inside the Abbey.

• 9:30-10:45am/4:30am – 5:45am: Heads of state, overseas government representatives, Government ministers, First Ministers, former PMs, foreign royals and members of the royal family arrive.

• 9:45am/4:45am ET: The Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry begins gathering for the Buckingham Palace procession.

• 10:20am/5:20 ET: The King and Queen Consort’s procession sets off from the Palace.

• 10:53am/5:53am ET: The King and Queen Consort arrive at Westminster Abbey.

• 11am/6am ET: Charles and Camilla enter the Abbey through the Great West Door and the service begins.

• 12pm/7am ET: The King is crowned. The Archbishop of Canterbury places the St Edward’s Crown on Charles’s head. Trumpets will sound and gun salutes will be fired across the UK.

• 1pm/8am ET: The service ends and the newly crowned King and Queen begin their coronation procession back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach.

• 1:33pm/8:33am ET: Charles and Camilla are expected to enter Buckingham Palace through the Centre Arch.

• 1:45pm/8:45am ET: The King and Queen Consort receive a royal salute from the military in the Palace Gardens.

• Around 2:15pm/9:15am: The King, Queen Consort and members of the royal family appear on the Palace balcony to watch the flypast.

Also, information on television/streaming plans. If I can find confirmation of the concert being shown in the US/Canada/other countries, I will add it to this post. UPDATE: The concert will be carried live by PBS from 3 – 5 pm ET on Sunday. 

UK COVERAGE: 

• BBC coverage begins at 7:30am on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. More details are available here. 
• Sky News coverage will begin at 7am (2am ET) and run commercial-free from 9am – 3pm local time. From 5pm – 10pm, special coverage of the Coronation will air on Sky News. A livestream will also be available via Sky’s YouTube and on the Sky News website. There is more detail here. 
• ITV starts its coverage at 6am on Saturday. 

USA COVERAGE: 

• ABC News will have live coverage starting at 5am ET with Michael Strahan as the primary anchor. You can watch streaming coverage at ABC News Live and ABC News Live Replay airs from 10 am to 3 pm ET (7 am to 12 pm PT). Read more details here.
• CBS News coverage begins at 5am on air. You can also watch on CBS News.com and on your mobile or streaming device.
• CNN International will start its live coverage at 1 am ET.
• CNN’s coverage will be anchored by Anderson Cooper starting at 5am and running until noon. It will also be streamed on CNN Live.  
• Fox News begins its coverage at 5am with Martha MacCallum anchoring coverage. A streaming link will also be made available on this page. See more info here.
• MSNBC will start its live coverage at 5am. 
• NBC News coverages will be anchored by Savannah Guthrie beginning at 5am. You can also watch at TODAY.com and NBCNews.com.
• PBS will carry the BBC’s live uninterrupted coverage of the Coronation from 2:30am-10am ET. 
• BBC America shows live coverage of the Coronation beginning at 6am. 

CANADA COVERAGE: 

• The CBC starts its coverage at 4am. Streaming coverage is available via CBC Gem, CBC News Explore, and CBC Listen. (More info here.)
• CTV’s starts its coverage at 4am, airing across CTV, CP24, CTV News Channel, CTVNews.ca, and the CTV and CTV News apps. (More info here.)

LIVESTREAMS: 

• Entities offering live streams include USA TODAY, The New York Times, Paramount+, DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, Fubo TV, Sky News YouTube channel, BBC, Britbox by BBC and iTV. 

VIDEOS: 

This video shows Saturday’s processional routes. 

6000 members of the British Military will take part in the King’s #coronation. 🇬🇧🤴👸

Here is a map of where you can catch a glimpse of the soldiers, sailors and aviators accompanying their Majesties in two processions to and from Westminster Abbey 👑👇 pic.twitter.com/3NXIkSy7zJ

— Forces News (@ForcesNews) April 30, 2023

 More on the vestments. 

This video offers details on some of the chairs that will be used in the service. 

 Background on St. Edward’s Crown. 

St Edward’s Crown is used at the moment of #Coronation. As it is placed on the Sovereign’s head, the congregation in the Abbey shout the words ‘God Save The King’.

Find out more about the history of the Crown in our film. pic.twitter.com/FMKnLadk5g

— Royal Collection Trust (@RCT) April 29, 2023