Can you camp outside Buckingham Palace for coronation? Explained

Royal fans have begun camping a week ahead of the coronation.

King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will be crowned in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, 6 May. The couple will depart from Buckingham Palace to travel to the service.

Following the coronation, Charles and Camilla will travel in a procession through the streets of London in the Gold State Coach. They will arrive back at the royal residence and will then make an appearance on the palace balcony.

For some royal fans, it is worth waiting days, even a week, to try and get the best view for Saturday. But what do the rules say about camping out?

Here is all you need to know:

Can you camp out near Buckingham Palace

For the Queen’s funeral a no-camping rule was in place on The Mall, however Royal fans still defied the orders and set up camp. Ahead of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last year, campers arrived from around the globe to try and secure the best spots.

There are no rules in place against camping outside Buckingham Palace ahead of the jubilee. People have previously camped out for events such as Prince Charles and Diana’s wedding as well as the marriages of the Cambridges and the Sussexess.

Royal fans set up camp a week early

Sky London and Carol Foster were among the royal devotees who have already begun waiting for Charles’ coronation next weekend. They set up a group of tents together, and were well supplied with deck chairs and snacks.

Asked why he had set up camp a full week ahead of the coronation, Mr London said: “There’s a saying, the early bird catches the early worm.”

He added: “We intend to hold this place, we don’t want anybody else to take it.”

Mr London is a seasoned royal camper. He said he had camped outside the Queen’s funeral, the Jubilee, and the births of all three of the Prince and Princess of Wales’ children.

It was at the birth of George that he met Ms Foster. The pair have been friends ever since, meeting up to celebrate their own birthdays, as well as the birthday of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Asked what she was most looking forward to about the coronation, Ms Foster said: “Seeing everybody dressed up, the pomp and ceremony. I’m looking forward to seeing what Catherine and Camilla are wearing. It’s a once in a lifetime thing.”

When is the coronation?

Charles III will be enthroned and Queen Consort Camilla will be crowned in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, 6 May. The service will begin at 11am and will run until 1pm.

The royals will return to Buckingham Palace and a RAF flypast, including Red Arrows and other aircaft, is due to take place around 2.30pm.

BBC, ITV and Sky News will all broadcast the coronation live and uninterrupted by adverts. ITV and Sky will resume adverts as usual after 3pm.

NationalWorld has a full breakdown of what to expect from the TV coverage during the coronation.