10-day weather trend: Warmer for the Bank Holiday

King Charles’s Coronation is likely to be a washout as Britain braces for nine days of thunderstorms – including when this weekend’s celebrations are in full swing. King Charles will officially be proclaimed monarch on Saturday in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London which will be beamed around the world.

Thousands of people across the UK are getting ready to celebrate the occasion with outdoor street parties and other events.

However, the British weather is likely to put a dampener on the festivities, as heavy rain and thunderstorms loom large on the horizon – particularly in London and the southeast.

While Saturday morning is tipped to start off dry, the weather is expected to quickly take a turn for the worse.

The Met Office’s meteorologist, Dan Stroud, told the Express: “We are expecting the weather to become rather unsettled later this week.

“So, Friday and Saturday we are expecting showers to develop across much of England and Wales.

“Some of those could be locally heavy and potentially thundery.”

He added: “London and the southeast are at most risk of seeing those showers.”

Rainy showers look set to continue into the second week of the May, but temperatures will be higher than normal, the Met Office said.

“We are expecting things to remain on the changeable side.

“So, it is likely to remain unsettled and changeable through to the second week of May with a greater chance of showers.

“It will be slightly warmer than average across England and Wales.

“We are looking at between 16C and 18C, but always cooler further north.”

The weather on Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation day on June 2 1953 was also nothing to write home about and was more akin to a typical November day.

Dull skies, a chill wind and outbreaks of rain were the order of the day in London.

Writing on his WeatherOnline blog, Philip Eden said: “A cold front brought thunder-showers and a sharp drop in temperature on May 26, and from then until the middle of June the British Isles lay between high pressure over the Atlantic, usually located somewhere between Ireland and Iceland, and low pressure over the near-continent.

“As a result the country lay under a very cool and moist northerly airflow throughout this period.

“June 2 itself was a miserable, November-like day in London as far as the weather was concerned, with dull skies, a chill wind and sporadic outbreaks of rain during the morning, although it dried out gradually later on.

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“The afternoon temperature climbed no higher than 12C – several degrees lower than the Queen’s wedding day in November six years before.”

Almost all of the Coronations that took place in the 20th Century were blighted by poor weather, according to Mr Eden.

George VI’s, on May 12, 1937, was cool and cloudy with rain during the first part of the morning and again in the evening.

George V’s, on June 22, 1911, was “a disappointingly cloudy day” with a chilly breeze, although the rain held off.

Finally, Edward VII’s, on August 9, 1902, was also cool and cloudy but “dry with just a few fleeting flickers of sunlight.”

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