Thousands of spectators cheered and waved at King Charles and Queen Camilla as they sped up the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.
Spirits were high despite many standing for several hours to catch a brief glimpse of the monarch during the Royal Procession shortly after 2pm.
Cameras and mobile phones were at the ready while a police helicopter hovered overhead - signalling that the King was on the move from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral.
King Charles smiled and waved at the waiting crowd while sitting next to wife Camilla. They were swiftly followed by Prince William and Princess Kate - the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay - in a separate vehicle en-route to the Thanksgiving Ceremony.
The Record spoke to several jubilant members of the public who were over the moon to have seen the King while marking the “historic” occasion.
Maureen Cardwell, from Allanton, near Shotts, met up with Edinburgh pal Lorna Smith for the royal procession.
She said: “We wanted to see the spectacle and pageantry that’s involved in a day like today. Being here makes you feel a part of it all really. We waved to Charles as he went past although we don’t know if he saw us.
“We brought our camping chairs with us after our experience at the Queen’s funeral. I came on the bus and everyone was carrying theirs too. We’re getting quite experienced at this now apparently. And it was thankfully a dry day.”
Jean Houston, 59, from Dalry in Ayrshire, dressed for the occasion in a full on Union Jack dress and scarf. The royalist said: “I loved his mother the Queen and I loved him. He’s my King. The procession went by awfully fast but I gave him a big wave.
"I went to see the Queen at St Giles’ after she died and then went down to London for the funeral. I wore the same dress there too. I’ll follow Charles anywhere.”
George Simpson, 18, and sister Kirsty, 27, came through from Hamilton for the ‘historic’ occasion. He said: “It’s been really exciting to see it all happening here today. We got a really good spot for the procession going past even though we only got here at about 12pm.
"We were here for the Queen after she died and stood for about seven hours then. We’ve only seen about two protestors and they got boo’s from the crowds. They’re definitely outnumbered. I think things like this bring people together of all ages and it shines a light on Scotland too.”
Johan Börjeson, 21, travelled over from Denmark especially for the Scottish coronation.
He said: “It’s a historic event and is very interesting to see. Our royal family isn’t celebrated like this. We didn’t manage to see the King going past as we were on the wrong part of the Royal Mile but we’re hanging about to see him after the ceremony.”
Sasha Kerr, 15, from Bathgate, travelled to the capital with her family. She said: “King Charles is my favourite. We were here for the Queen too last year but this is a far happier occasion. We’ve been standing since about 10am but we saw the royals go past - even if they drove by very quickly.”
David Whitelaw, 68, from Kilwinning, added: “Events like these really bring people together. You get chatting to strangers and leave as acquaintances. We also couldn’t have asked for better weather. It’s not every day you get to see something like this.”
And Lisa Flude, 56, Halifax, West Yorkshire, travelled to Edinburgh especially for the event.
She even made her own royal-themed bowler hat using a scarf and cake toppers.
She said: “The whole day has been absolutely fabulous. How well everything has gone is a true credit to the city. I came up on the train this morning and have a bag full of rain jackets which thankfully I’ve not needed. I’m a big fan of the Royal family so I just had to come. It’s been well worth it.”
The Royal Procession zoomed back down the Royal Mile shortly after the ceremony where they were applauded once again by fans.
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