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King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla braved the cold this morning as they headed to a church service on the Sandringham estate.
The monarch, 74, wrapped up warm in a brown long-line coat and red scarf as he walked up the path to St Mary Magdalene church in Norfolk.
Meanwhile, the Queen Consort, 75, protected herself from the winter chill in a thick wool coat that matched her husband’s outerwear.
The royal looked sophisticated in a fur-lined hat and smart black boots as the couple made their way to the service at the church where the Royal Family gather every Christmas.
King Charles, 74, wrapped up warm in a brown long-line coat and red scarf as he walked up the path to St Mary Magdalene church in Norfolk
Temperatures in Norfolk dropped to just 3°C this morning – with the grass alongside the church’s pathway being tipped with frost.
However, that didn’t stop members of the public coming out to show their support for the couple after the service ended.
Two schoolchildren were greeted with a wave from the Queen Consort as they stood next to the entrance of the church.
Today’s outing was the first time the royal couple have been pictured since the full details of the King’s three day coronation celebrations were announced.
The Queen Consort seen leaving the church following the service in Sandringham this morning
The Queen Consort greeted the young royal fans with a wave being heading back to the couple’s royal residence
The Queen Consort, 75, protected herself from the winter chill in a thick wool coat that matched her husband’s outerwear as temperatures dropped to just 3°C this morning
Grass alongside the church’s pathway was tipped with frost as the royal couple stepped out this morning
The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis pictured outside the Norfolk church last month
The official crowning will take place on May 6 at Westminster Abbey where His Majesty will shun royal garb in favour of military clothing, in a bid to update the ceremony.
A procession will then lead the newly-crowned King past thousands of people who will line the streets to Buckingham Palace, where he will then join members of his family on the balcony to wave at the masses.
The next day Windsor Castle is set to host a concert which will be televised around the world, with thousands of street parties earlier in the afternoon as people gather to celebrate the occasion. This will be followed by a Bank Holiday on Monday, with millions of people set to get a day off work.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to line the streets for the once in a generation coronation procession, with the Firm hoping the crowds will rival those seen for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September.
The coronation, which takes place on the first weekend of May this year, will see Charles champion refugees, diversity and volunteering.
It will begin with the crowning of Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, on Saturday, May 6.
The ceremony at Westminster Abbey will be preceded by a procession from Buckingham Palace to the abbey.
The path will be lined by members of the armed forces including sailors, soldiers and airmen and women.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are expected to take part in the procession, possibly with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, along with their children Archie and Lilibet, may also feature.
The Earl of Wessex and Princess Royal are expected to take part as Prince Charles’ siblings. It is thought Prince Andrew may also play a role – although it is unknown whether he will be able to wear military uniform, as he and Harry are no longer working royals.
In a break with tradition, Queen Consort Camilla will be crowned alongside her husband by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Instead of wearing the traditional breeches and stockings worn by his male ancestors, the King is expected to don military uniform in order to be seen as keeping up with the times.
Queen Elizabeth II pictured at her coronation in 1953 holding the Orb and sceptre while wearing the Imperial state crown
It will be followed by another procession, in which Charles and Camilla will be joined by other members of the royal family, and an appearance on the palace balcony.
However, it is unlikely that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, will join the rest of the family on the balcony – the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are thought to have been banned from attending after their Netflix documentary and Harry’s bombshell memoir, Spare, tore into the monarchy.
But there will be more to the weekend than crowns, sceptres and ermine robes.
The palace wants the coronation to demonstrate that the monarchy still has a role to play in a multicultural nation struggling to deal with a cost-of-living crisis, budget cuts and a wave of strikes by public-sector workers.
While there was widespread respect for Queen Elizabeth II, as demonstrated by the tens of thousands of people who waited hours to file past her coffin after she died in September, there is no guarantee that reverence will transfer to her eldest son.
It is not thought the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured walking to St May Magdalene church on Christmas Day 2018) will appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony during King Charles’ coronation celebrations
The coronation will be a solemn service presided over by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, but the palace also plans a weekend of events that highlight the various communities and cultures that contribute to modern Britain.
The palace is asking neighbourhoods around the nation to take part in the ‘Coronation Big Lunch’ on Sunday, May 7 – the latest incarnation of the block parties that have become a staple of big royal celebrations.
That night there will be a concert at Windsor Castle featuring a choir drawn from amateur troupes across the United Kingdom, including refugee choirs, National Health Service choirs, LGBTQ singing groups and deaf signing choirs.
The ‘Coronation Choir’ will perform alongside another one made up of singers from across the Commonwealth who will appear virtually during the televised concert that will also include as yet undisclosed headliners.
During the concert, locations across the country will be lit up using projections, lasers and drone displays.
Thousands of tickets for the concert, which will be produced by BBC Studios and broadcast on BBC One, will be available via a public ballot as Buckingham Palace this weekend unveiled the first glimpse of plans for a coronation weekend that is set to grip the nation.
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