Royal enthusiasts from Northern Ireland will be among thousands from across the UK making their way to London next weekend for the King’s coronation.
Next Saturday will see a newly crowned King Charles III and Queen Camilla make their way back from Westminster Abbey, along Parliament Square and Whitehall, through Trafalgar Square and finish the route down The Mall back to Buckingham Palace.
Gillian Hunter, a royal superfan from Newtownabbey, will be camping out for the spectacle, alongside her daughter, Rebekah, 26, and long-time friend Julie Millar and her daughter Courtney.
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Gillian, 55, told Belfast Live: "We're flying to London early on Friday morning and are all set with our backpacks, Union Jack deckchairs, t-shirts and dresses. The plan is to get a spot on The Mall later that day and camp out for the night with our sandwiches.
"The King and Queen have to come down The Mall on their way to and from Westminster Abbey and it also means that we'll be close to Buckingham Palace to see their balcony appearance afterwards."
The coronation procession will be significantly shorter than the route taken by his late mother Queen Elizabeth II 70 years ago.
Buckingham Palace recently revealed that the central London route is around a quarter the length of the grander spectacle laid on back in 1953.
The shorter route is understood to have been chosen for practical reasons, appearing similar to the tried-and-tested route used for other royal processions to Westminster, such as those for the state opening of Parliament and the late Queen’s funeral.
The King is also reported to want a smaller ceremony than past coronations as the country faces a cost of living crisis.
This will be Gillian's first time camping out for a major royal event but she says it's one that could not be missed.
"Julie and I were huge Diana fans and we loved the Queen too. After Diana died we felt we should have been there for her funeral but that was the same year that Rebekah was born so I had my hands full with a newborn," she explained.
"When the Queen died last September Julie and I again felt that we should have made the journey to London so we decided that we'd definitely travel over for the coronation.
"I'm more excited to see William and Kate because I met Harry and Meghan before when they came to Belfast (in 2018). I stood in the pouring rain and was so overcome with emotion. I shook Harry's hand and blurted out to him about how much I loved his mum."
Gillian added: "There's just going to be such a great buzz and Northern Ireland folk can talk to anybody so I think we'll have a great time sitting on The Mall having a good old natter and a sing-song. We're really looking forward to it but just praying that the weather holds up."
Elsewhere Canon Derek Kerr, a Church of Ireland rector based in Randalstown, takes every opportunity he can to attend special royal events. His first was the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday in 2000, when he positioned himself between Clarence House and Buckingham Palace.
Two years later, Derek was a guest at a Garden Party in Loughry College in Cookstown to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee when he met the late monarch for the first time.
Royal enthusiast Derek, who is rector of Drummaul, Duneane and Ballyscullion, has been collecting all things regal for the past 30 years and has gathered up around 500 items, the oldest being a jug and some crockery dating back to Queen Victoria’s days.
As well as collecting memorabilia, Derek, 58, does an average of 10 ‘Royal Talks’ a year. Ahead of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last June, he put his hundreds of items of regal memorabilia, collected by him over the years, on display as a part of a charity exhibition.
Last September he was among many from Northern Ireland who made the journey to London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
"The atmosphere was obviously very different on that occasion when nobody was feeling happy. There was no cheering so this time there'll be more of a jovial and party atmosphere," he said.
Derek also recalled meeting the former Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall when they visited Cookstown in March 2022.
"I asked him if he could tell his lovely mother how many people in this country were praying for her continued health and hoped she was as comfortable and strong as it's possible to be for as long as she was able to be," he said.
"He grabbed my hand, squeezed it and said that was such a very kind thing to say before thanking me. I was very glad that I made the effort to tell him that."
On Friday night, Derek will also be camping out on The Mall ahead of Saturday's coronation..
"I'm very much looking forward to enjoying the history and spectacle of it all," he said.
"The part I'm most excited about is seeing the King and Queen travelling back to Buckingham Palace in the really old Gold State Coach so it will be nice to see that in reality for the first time instead of on the television.
"The only thing that will stop me is torrential weather as it rained for the Queen's coronation 70 years ago."
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