King Charles has been pictured full of smiles as he chatted with guests at a garden party ahead of the Coronation.
If there are any nerves ahead of the historic occasion then Charles hid it well as as he mingled in the garden of Buckingham Palace.
It was Charles’ first garden party as monarch and he was seen standing to attention alongside Camilla, Prince Edward and Sophie for the national anthem in front of 8,000 guests at the Palace.
Summer garden parties are a tradition that date back to the time of Queen Victoria but they are now closely associated with the late Queen Elizabeth where she would meet charity workers and members of the community at Buckingham Palace.
While weather reports are predicting heavy showers over the Coronation weekend, there was plenty of sunshine in central London for the event on Wednesday.
Charles and Camilla were both seen chatting with Lionel Richie who was among the guests and will be performing at the weekend’s Coronation concert at Windsor Castle.
"We're walking in history right now," said Richie, 73.
The singer, who was at the Palace with partner Lisa Parigi - 40 years his junior - said that he had been given one of the coveted seats inside Westminster Abbey for Saturday's Coronation service.
Speaking before meeting the King, an enthusiastic Richie said the concert was "going to be so much fun".
He added: "This is a once in a lifetime so to be a part of it is everything. I've known His Majesty now for a couple of years.
"In your career... the '84 Olympics [where he performed All Night Long], that was a billion people watching. So, I mean, in your career, there are Oscars and then there are Grammys and then there's a Coronation... are you kidding me?! This doesn't happen every day so am I excited about this? Absolutely! This is going to be the best thing ever!"
When asked if he had any surprises up his sleeve for the concert at Windsor Castle on Sunday he said: "You know. I would love to tell you but I'm sworn to secrecy."
The Queen Consort, in a navy and white Bruce Oldfield dress with Philip Treacy hat, met a 99-year-old veteran who served in Normandy during WWII.
John Aitchison, 99, from Castle Douglas in Scotland, served as a Dispatch rider with the 53rd heavy regiment, Royal Artillery. He showed the Queen Consort a picture of him in Normandy aged 21.
Queen Camilla said: "Well, I hope I'm as agile as you when I'm 99."
When he asked if her father, Major Bruce Shand was captured during the war, she nodded and replied: "He was captured."
The Queen's father was taken to Germany as a prisoner of war in 1942 before escaping capture and returning to Britain in 1945.
Mr Aitchison said: "So he had a lot of experience." Her Majesty nodded and agreed: "He had a lot of experience, yes."
The King met with Baroness Lawrence, the mother of black teenager Stephen Lawrence who was murdered in a racist attack in 1993.
Separately the King talked with police officers from the Metropolitan Police who had received Public Protection Awards.
One was police constable Petra Lopes-Nogueira, 20, who was in Euston when shots were fired at a memorial service. Another was Police Constable Helen French, who helped secure the conviction of a child abuser who attacked six children during a period spanning 24 years.
Meanwhile, the Queen Consort met with workers from the domestic abuse charity Safelives, which is one of four charities set to benefit when 100 chairs made for the Coronation are auctioned off after the service.
Safe Young Lives programme lead Sally Steadman-South, 43, from Sheffield, said: "Her Majesty felt really warm and kind. We told her we were ecstatic to be one of the charities benefitting from the chairs being auctioned."
Chair of the Safelives trustee board, Isabel Boyer, added: "The Queen has a really personal commitment to our work to end domestic abuse."
The Queen Consort met Jade Soer, 32, from Blackpool - a helpline manager at Silver Line, a phone line dedicated to helping the elderly which has the Queen Consort as its patron.
Ms Soer said: "We talked about the Coronation. I wished her luck and the Queen said 'It's going to rain! I said well, we run a helpline for the elderly so we are quite good when it comes to talking about the weather!"
The next garden parties will be on May 9 at Buckingham Palace and July 4 at Holyroodhouse, stated the Palace.
Meanwhile other royals were also looking relaxed and in good spirits as they took part in a Coronation rehearsal.
There has been tension in the air especially between brothers William and Harry and it is likely that the latter will just be making a flying visit to the Coronation and then head back to California with Meghan Markle not attending.
A body language expert has said that William’s facial expressions during the rehearsal suggested he is keen that no animosity will spoil the weekend.
Judi James also noted how George, Charlotte and Louis all seem ready for the event, putting it down to plenty of experience as the children grow up with many engagements.
She told the Mirror: "‘I don’t want any drama’ is a well-used line in reality TV and always comes before an event that is about to kick off.
"The royals have their own dramas recently but it looks clear from their body language at these coronation rehearsals that they are planning to ensure everything will go hitch-free.
