King Charles III and Queen Camilla left Buckingham Palace Saturday in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach for a procession through central London to their coronation in Westminster Abbey, arriving around 10:50 am.

Massed ranks of soldiers lining The Mall in front of the palace presented arms and shouted “God save the king” as the horse-drawn carriage passed to cheers from thousands of onlookers.

Britain’s King Charles III and Britain’s Camilla, Queen Consort begin their journey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, in the ‘King’s Procession’, a journey of two kilometres from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in central London on May 6, 2023, ahead of their coronations. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

Britain’s King Charles III travels with Britain’s Camilla, Queen Consort (not pictured) begin their journey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, in the ‘King’s Procession’, a journey of two kilometres from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in central London on May 6, 2023, ahead of their coronations. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

Charles III will be crowned king in a solemn Christian ceremony steeped in 1,000 years of history and tradition, but adapted to reflect 21st-century Britain.

St Edward’s Crown — a solid gold, sacred symbol of the monarch’s authority used only once in their reign — will be placed on Charles’s head at 1100 GMT to cries of “God Save the King”.