Charles and Camilla, the future king and queen, have departed Buckingham Palace and are making their way to Westminster Abbey, where they will be installed.
Their majesties departed the palace in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach for the brief trip across London, guarded by The Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry.
The King and Camilla turned out of the Palace and walked down the Mall to the cheers of the crowd.
Royal fans had been waiting for days to see the King and despite the rain that started to fall as the couple headed down the Mall didn’t let it dampen their spirits.
The Diamond Jubilee state coach is the most modern of the royal carriages and has electric windows and air conditioning.
The coach was originally meant to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s 80th birthday, but its construction was delayed.
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Instead, it was made to mark 60 years of her reign in 2012. The coach is more than 16 feet (five metres) long and weighs more than three tons, needing six horses to pull it.
The King’s Guard turned out the forecourt and gave a Royal Salute as The King, The Queen Consort and other Members of the Royal family also left the palace.
The trip is less than a mile, and the route will be filled with pomp and grandeur.
The 33-minute journey to Westminster Abbey began with the tri-service Guard of Honour outside Buckingham Palace’s gates giving a royal salute, as the King and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Coach first emerged, and the national anthem was played by a military band.
Huge Union flags and others from Commonwealth nations flew from poles in The Mall and Charles and Camilla’s route was lined by guardsmen in their distinctive red tunics and bearskins.
The Sovereign’s Escort was led by the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment band, 48 horses and musicians with two drum horses Atlas and Apollo leading the way, playing eight marches along the route.
Following were four divisions from the Household Cavalry with the King’s coach in the middle – two from the Blues and Royals taking the lead and Life Guards behind the carriage with the farriers carrying their axes at the rear.
Crowds had been building up in the capital since dawn with the streets around the procession route – The Mall, Admiralty Arch, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and Parliament Square – thronged with people.
Earlier, the King and Queen made their first appearance of coronation day when they travelled the short distance from their Clarence House home for final preparations at Buckingham Palace.
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