King's coronation flypast could be cancelled due to bad weather

4 May 2023, 12:08

King Charles' coronation flypast could be cancelled due to bad weather set to creep in over the weekend.

Despite the Met Office saying exact conditions for Saturday are difficult to predict, forecasters have said rain is expected throughout the day.

The wet conditions could cause disruption for thousands planning on lining the streets to celebrate the King's coronation, with the flypast potentially being called off completely.

Around 60 different types of aircraft will gather including The Red Arrows, 16 helicopters and the magnificent Spitfires from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will take part.

But only working royals will be allowed to appear on the balcony for the event, meaning Prince Harry and Prince Andrew will not be present.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "As is always the case for flypasts of this type, the latest weather information will be obtained, and weather checks will take place in advance of the main flypast on Saturday.

"Depending on the weather there are a number of contingencies in place."

Read more: King's Coronation flypast date, times and route: Exactly where you can see the Red Arrows

The weather conditions will be tracked up until the event at 2.30pm, with the flypast only likely to be cancelled up to an hour before.

Another alternative could be the number of aircrafts involved being reduced to help with visibility issues.

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Met Office spokesperson Nicola Maxey said: "We’ve got quite a showery picture. Friday is going to be a mixture of heavy rain and showers and thunderstorms.

"At the moment it looks like, as I say, the morning should be relatively dry with some sunny spells in London, but the afternoon could see showers developing in London.

"But long lead time, so as always the message is to keep an eye on the forecast and check it regularly because the detail will become clearer as we get nearer to the day."

Saturday is still expected to remain warm amid the downpours, with temperatures reaching as high as 20°C.

The last time a flypast was called off was for the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee weekend last year.

The second round of aircrafts was halted due to cloudy weather.