King Charles has been crowned at his 'slimmed-down' coronation ceremony. These were the key moments.
Thousands have descended on central London to bear witness to the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla at Westminster Abbey, with millions more watching on around the world.
By Jacqueline Howard in London
Posted 9h ago9 hours ago, updated 2h ago
amp.abc.net.au
It's the first coronation ceremony in over 70 years, following the incredible reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Now, her son King Charles III has been crowned in the ceremony honouring almost a millennium of tradition.
Here's how the coronation unfolded.
Prince Harry arrived alone
Prince Harry entered Westminster Abbey behind his cousins, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and their husbands.
Years of tensions between Prince Harry and his family relegated the younger son of King Charles to the back of the royal pack.
Prince Harry entered Westminster Abbey behind his cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, their husbands, and his uncle Prince Andrew.
While Prince Andrew, a disgraced member of the family, wore an extravagant uniform, Prince Harry arrived in a simple suit decorated with his medals.
Ascending the steps to the Abbey, Prince Harry smiled and laughed with Princess Beatrice's husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank, husband of Princess Eugenie, before taking his seat beside the latter in the third row.
The prince is known to be close to his cousins.
Prince Harry was placed a few rows back from his immediate family, instead sitting alongside his cousins in the third row.
Until only a few weeks ago, it had been unclear whether Prince Harry would attend the historic occasion at all.
His wife, Meghan, and two young children chose to remain in the United States.
Harry's eldest child, Archie, celebrated his fourth birthday on the day of the coronation.
Sam Kerr led the Australian contingent
Sam Kerr led the Australian delegation into Westminster Abbey.
Matildas star Sam Kerr was flag-bearer as the representatives of Australia entered the Abbey.
She led the group towards the beginning of the pack, as the Commonwealth states entered in alphabetical order.
Kerr wore a sharp black suit, the collar of her shirt embroidered with an elegant silver leaf design.
Following the flag was Governor-General of Australia David Hurley, his wife Linda Hurley, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his partner, Jodie Haydon.
Prince George stepped up
Prince George was one of King Charles's pages of honour.
Prince George was "nervous, but excited" about his big role in the coronation, his mother Princess Kate told well-wishers during a tour of the Mall yesterday.
At nine years old, the second-in-line-to-the-throne was enlisted among his grandfather's pages of honour.
Prince George was extremely careful as he handled his grandfather's robe.
He was meticulous with his steps as he carried the far right corner of King Charles's robe as the procession made its way through the abbey, and remained on display throughout the ceremony from his position by the altar behind the monarchs.
Standing by Prince George were Queen Camilla's pages of honour, including her grandsons Freddy, Louis and Gus, all 13 years of age.
The boys carried the same responsibility as Prince George, carrying the train of their grandmother's robes down the aisle ahead of the King.
Their parents, Queen Camilla's children Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, are ordinarily protective of their privacy but allowed their children to take on the roles in the coronation to mark the momentous occasion.
The pages of honour stood behind the monarchs and other key figures as the coronation ceremony progressed.
Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis witnessed the ceremony from the front row, seated in between their parents, Prince William and Princess Kate.
Throughout the ceremony, the young siblings would whisper on occasion, pointing out the grandeur of the abbey to one another.
Princess Charlotte, who wore a tiara matching her mother's, regularly looked up to her parents for reassurance.
Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were seated in the front row of the coronation.
Prince Louis disappeared briefly toward the end of the ceremony but was back in time for the procession.
The crowning moment
King Charles III holds the orb, ring and glove and wears the St Edward's Crown.
After being anointed with holy oil and presented with some of the crown jewels, King Charles was officially crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury placing the St Edward’s Crown upon his head.
The 360-year-old crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels. It stands just over 30 centimetres tall and weighs over 2kg.
Once the crown was on, the Archbishop led a chant of "God Save the King", the Abbey bells rang, trumpets sounded and gun salutes were fired across the country.
Prince William, the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, then knelt in front of his father, read an oath of loyalty and kissed him on the cheek.
Prince William kissed his father on the cheek after swearing his loyalty.
The pledge of allegiance was then sounded out by the thousands in attendance at the Abbey as one:
"I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God," the congregation echoed.
Queen Camilla was then also anointed with holy oil and crowned in a simpler ceremony, which did not include an oath.
For her crowning, the Queen Mary's Crown was placed atop her head.
Queen Camilla was crowned with Queen Mary's Crown.
The coronation procession
After the ceremony, the King and Queen travelled back to Buckingham Palace in a grand procession through the streets of London.
Around 4,000 military personnel from 39 countries joined the coronation procession.
Protected from the rain in the Gold State Coach, the pair were escorted by some 4,000 army personnel along the route where thousands had gathered to watch the spectacle.
Princess Anne had stepped out of the abbey early for a quick costume change before joining the procession on horseback behind the coach.
The procession route passed some monuments honouring the Royal Family, including statues of King George VI and the Queen Mother.
As the procession passed, people shouted "God Save the King" and "hip, hip, hooray".
The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children were also taken to Buckingham Palace in a horse-drawn carriage, as were the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
Prince Harry, however, jumped in a car bound for the airport immediately following the ceremony, no doubt to reunite with his son on his birthday.
A full house on the balcony
The famous balcony wave to the thousands crammed into the Mall seemed to disappoint only the royals who, while clearly expecting a military flyover in all its glory, were treated to a "scaled-back" operation due to the wet weather.
Rather than the 60-strong aircraft display, a smaller arrangement of helicopters buzzed overhead followed by the RAF Red Arrows.
Nevertheless, after a brief moment of confusion, the King gave an enthusiastic wave as he looked down on the masses of people cheering and waving their Union Jack flags.
The royals wave to onlookers from the balcony at Buckingham Palace.
Joining the King and Queen on the balcony were their pages of honour, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, Princess Anne the Princess Royal, her son Peter Phillips, and Prince Edward the Duke of Edinburgh and his family.
Prince George had a laugh with one of his page-mates while further along the balcony, his sister Princess Charlotte waved confidently to the crowds while the youngest, Prince Louis, banged a drumbeat on the balcony.
After disappearing inside, the King and Queen re-emerged for an encore appearance and one last wave.
The Royal Air Force Red Arrows flew over Buckingham Palace.
