'What. A. Day': Royals thank public and everyone behind the scenes who worked on the King's coronation

6 May 2023, 15:47 | Updated: 6 May 2023, 23:24

The royal family has thanked the public and everyone behind the scenes who helped make the King's coronation a success.

King Charles and Queen Camilla smiled and waved to crowds on the Buckingham Palace balcony, complete with robes and crowns, to mark the conclusion of coronation formalities.

Prince William and Princess Catherine also appeared with their children beside them and other senior royals to watch a celebratory flypast.

The scaled-back military parade, which involved a squadron of nine red arrows painting the colours in the Union Jack flag above Westminster, was thought to be '50/50' due to poor weather in the run-up to the event.

More than 60 aircraft from the Navy, British Army and RAF had been due to take part in the flypast.

Read more: Coronation flypast scaled back due to bad weather as London hit by downpour

Read more: Crowning around: Son of William and Kate goes viral with antics at King's Coronation

However, despite “unsuitable weather conditions” pouring water on the celebratory plans, the less than desirable conditions failed to dampen the spirits of the crowd.

Helicopters from the three services took part in the two-and-a-half-minute event.

The flypast involved 16 Juno, Wildcat, Merlin, Apache, Chinook and Puma helicopters plus nine Red Arrow Hawks.

As celebrations came to an end, William and Kate shared a video of highlights from the day, saying: "Thank you to everyone who made it happen."

It came after the King was crowned by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at Westminster Abbey in a service that began at 11am.

Twelve newly commissioned pieces of music were performed as part of the Coronation, showcasing musical talent from across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

The music was said to reflect the King’s life-long love and support of music and the arts.

"It's a grand spectacle' says LBC Reporter Charlotte Lynch

The historic ceremony began with King Charles III and Queen Camilla travelling by coach to Westminster Abbey from Buckingham Palace shortly after 10:30am.

A host of royals, international dignitaries and charity workers descended on the abbey ahead of the couple's arrival.

Neither Prince Harry nor Prince Andrew were in attendance on the royal balcony following the Coronation ceremony.

It followed the news the prince flew into the UK on a commercial American Airlines flight on Friday morning amidst much secrecy.