Coronation in London – ‘We’ve been camping since Wednesday to see the king’

Jenny and Phyllis have been camping since Wednesday night on the sidewalk next to the Mall, the boulevard that stretches from Buckingham Palace to Admiralty Arch and Trafalgar Square to the east. You have a mission: the newly crowned King Charles III. to see!

That’s why they pitched their tents three days before the big event – until Saturday, when the royal family and their supporters, international guests, guards, horses and co. accommodation.

Your chance of seeing the royals is not that small. Because: the procession travels from Buckingham Palace via “The Mall” and Trafalgar Square to Parliament and finally to Westminster Abbey. After a three-hour coronation ceremony – at which the Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen will also be present – we return to the palace via the same route (see image for details).

Canned sardines and champagne
“We live outside London and we haven’t even booked a hotel, so we don’t have to,” laughs Phyllis. Her optimism is contagious: “We eat canned Tesco sardines for dinner and have plenty of champagne with us,” says Jenny, pointing to a cooler. “After all, the coronation of our new king is an occasion to be celebrated. Let’s toast to that!”

Charles is everywhere here – his face even smiles from Phyllis’ tent roof: “I cut that out of the newspaper. Everyone smiles when they see it and I always say I invited Charles to my house.”

That thousands upon thousands of people spend the night on the streets of London to catch a glimpse of the royals doesn’t bother anyone here. On the contrary – the police officers and security personnel are accommodating, friendly and helpful: “I doubt there will be as much going on this time as there was at our Queen’s funeral,” says a police officer, but: “We are still preparing everything, the blocking streets just to be on the safe side, better to prevent than to cure!” Safe is safe.

“I hope Harry is happy”
Becca and Amber, who have been camping next to the mall since Thursday, are also in a good mood and perfectly prepared – they even have a small gas stove with them: “We’re cooking tea, hot soup, even noodles. We’re fine!” After attending Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral live in September, they didn’t want to miss out on what was now a much more enjoyable event.

First row of feet free – a look at the royal family should go out, the two think. Becca: “If we see anyone from the royal family, hopefully it’s Harry – I hope he’s happy.”

A few meters away, Tom and Richard have set up their tents – in style: Tom is wearing a suit in the “Union Jack” pattern, ie with a huge flag of the United Kingdom. Did he buy this outfit especially for the coronation? “Of course not, I’ve had that suit for years! That’s how it should be for a real Briton,” he laughs. “We’re chilling here until Saturday finally comes.”

Chilling is key – everyone here has to do it until the time finally comes. One of those waiting is Emily, who passes the time crocheting: “I’m crocheting a blanket with a Union Jack pattern. I started on the train to London, now I’m in row two. It should be 185 rows in total, so I have a lot to do,” says the young woman from York. “But we’ve been here for a while!”

Mari had an even longer journey, she’s from the US: “We flew from Texas to London, after all, we can’t miss the coronation! We were also here in 2011, watching the royal wedding of Prince William and Duchess Kate. That was so nice, that’s why we’re here again.” The outfit is chosen appropriately: Mari wears a scarf around her neck and a beautiful hat.”Like at Ascot!” she says happily.