Cocktails and crowns: how to enjoy the big day

All eyes are on London for the Coronation. But where do you go to join in the celebrations? David Ellis has the lowdown on the best views, the big screens and where to raise a glass or two

- David Ellis

THIS weekend marks the first coronation this country has seen in 70 years, meaning that for so many it is a never-before-seen historic moment. Expect TVs sets to be blaring, and bunting whipped out from thin air. If you want to be part of this seminal moment in Britain’s modern history but haven’t booked anywhere to while the day away yet, here’s what you need to know and where to join in.

The royal route 

The crowning begins tomorrow at 11am, inside Westminster Abbey, taking the hint from the last 900 years or so of protocol. The service, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, pictured below, won’t be a jolly old knees-up; instead the Palace are calling it “a solemn religious service”. The hour-or-so service will be witnessed by about 2,000 guests and there are chances to be involved. Before the King and Queen duck into the Abbey, they head on the King’s Procession, a halfhour, 1.3-mile route that at 10.20am begins at Buckingham Palace, rumbles down the Mall, through Admiralty Arch, does a right at Trafalgar Square and trots the length of Whitehall.

While the area surrounding Westminster Abbey is closed to the public, there will be viewing areas along the procession route on both sides of the road, which opens at 6am. The public are asked to keep away until then.

The viewing platforms are expected to be busy and will close as soon as they’re full; getting down early is advised (especially for those wanting to see the guests, the first of whom will arrive from 7.15am (with the royals, heads of state and former PMs expected from 9.30am).