Inside Westminster Abbey ahead of King Charles' coronation
The royal family revealed a stunning first look inside Westminster Abbey hours before King Charles III’s coronation ceremony.
The British family’s official Twitter account shared a 40-second glimpse of the decorated London royal church Friday evening, simply writing: “Westminster Abbey is ready for the #Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.”
The impressive clip shows off gorgeous flower displays in the empty building with the Great West Window in the distance.
The foliage formations are made of rosemary, birch, bay and hazel and wild broom, according to the Daily Mail.
Because 8,000 guests attended Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation, only the processional route was decorated with florals.
“The Abbey was so full of people, and everyone wearing scarlet robes, that there was no place for flowers,” florist Shane Connolly, who made Charles’ arrangements, told the Daily Mail.
Two thousand guests are expected to attend Saturday’s event, leaving plenty of space for decorative arrangements.
The in-season plants will be donated to Floral Angels — a charity that Camilla, 75, is a patron of — which repurposes arrangements into bouquets to send off to care homes, hospices and shelters.
The celebration will include “key elements associated with the hallowed religious service,” but reflect the 74-year-old king’s vision of a trimmed-down modern monarchy, Buckingham Palace said.
The “scaled back” affair is still estimated to cost between $63 million and $125 million, according to the BBC.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla pose for a picture in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace on April 4. via REUTERS
The celebration is expected to be more expensive than Elizabeth’s coronation, which would have cost $57 million today.
Weekend festivities include the “king’s procession” and a concert in Windsor Castle featuring “American Idol” judges Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.
Flowers were not placed in the royal church for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, as 8,000 guests filled the Abbey. The Royal Family
More than 2,000 guests will fill the church for Saturday’s ceremony. The Royal Family
The ceremony is expected to start at 11 a.m. local time (6 a.m. ET) at Westminster Abbey.
In the meantime, supporters can suck on Charles’ “sausage fingers,” as an e-cigarette company debuted its “coronation collection” of vapes that mirror his infamous chunky claws.
Or fans can get inspired by these coronation menus.
Source: New York Post
