King Charles III will become the oldest British monarch to take the throne on Saturday, May 6, but this is only one piece of trivia surrounding what will be a historic day.
The 74-year-old officially became king upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September, and the Firm have since been preparing for his coronation. Queen Consort Camilla will also be crowned on Saturday.
“The coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in long-standing traditions and pageantry,” Buckingham Palace said
The momentous scale of the occasion is illustrated by some fascinating facts and figures.
Here are some that you need to know:
The coronation in numbers
At nine (years old), Prince George will become the youngest future king to play an official role at a coronation. Buckingham Palace said the youngest ever monarch was Mary, Queen of Scots, who became Queen in 1542 when she was only six days old.
Around 2,000 people are expected to attend the Westminster Abbey ceremony. Of these, there will be 850 community representatives including 450 ‘Covid Heroes’. These are people who were awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in recognition of their efforts during the pandemic.
More than 6,000 men and women of the UK’s Armed Forces will take part.
The estimated cost of the coronation is £50-100 million.
The coronation is expected to give the hospitality industry a £1 billion boost. Around 62 million pints are set to be pulled at the weekend.
Family man Charles has three siblings, two sons, two step-children, five grandchildren and five step-grandchildren.
As Prince of Wales, Charles became president or patron of more than 800 charities and initiatives in total.
Charles has authored or co-authored 17 books.
Since 1601, there has been only one coronation in May before this year’s, that of King George VI on May 12, 1937.
Around 300 million worldwide are expected to tune in to watch the coronation on television - along with the crowds that will be watching the procession in person. The Queen’s coronation in 1953 had a worldwide audience of 277 million.
Charles III will be the 40th sovereign to be crowned at Westminster Abbey, continuing a tradition started by William the Conqueror in 1066.
