It was the day he had prepared for all his life and the King appeared solemn as he departed Buckingham Palace to be crowned.

But that changed as the state coach approached the crowds gathered from across the world to wish him well.

Charles waved and smiled warmly, and they responded with cries of “hip hip hooray”.

The skies were grey and a smattering of rain fell. But the Coronation got off to a joyous start as the King and Queen began their 1.3 mile journey to Westminster Abbey, accompanied by the Sovereign’s Escort of The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.

Colonel Simon Vandeleur signalled to the Guard of Honour to give a royal salute as the front wheel of the Diamond Jubilee Coach left the Palace grounds.

It prompted the Royal Marines Band Plymouth to begin playing the national anthem and the mounted band of the Household Cavalry set off as the first note of God Save the King rang out.

It set the tone for the King’s Procession. Six majestic Windsor Grey horses drew the King and Queen along The Mall. Ahead rode the Blues and Royals cavalry regiment. Behind were the Life Guards, their helmets decked with white ceremonial plumes.

The band made its way through Admiralty Arch at 10.33am, led by the regiment’s two drum horses, Atlas and Apollo, followed by the carriage carrying Charles and Camilla.

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They passed the statue of King Charles I in Trafalgar Square and turned on to Whitehall, where the procession continued past the Cenotaph and the entrance to Downing Street.

Continuing around Parliament Square, the King and Queen arrived outside Westminster Abbey at 10.48am. The coach was built to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

The seat handrails are from the Royal Yacht Britannia and the bodywork contains fragments from Henry VIII’s warship the Mary Rose, Sir Isaac Newton’s apple tree and the Antarctic bases of Captain Robert Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton.

And this was just the start, as the later procession would be an even grander affair.

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