Millions of people across the whole United Kingdom and beyond have celebrated the coronation of King Charles the third  a symbolic ceremony combining a religious service and pageantry. The ceremony was traditionally held at Westminster Abbey, with the King becoming the fortieth reigning monarch to be crowned there since ten sixty-six. Queen Camilla was crowned alongside him before a huge parade back to Buckingham Palace. Here is how the day of splendour and formality, which featured customs dating back more than thousand years, unfolded. The formal celebrations started with a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. In a break from tradition, King Charles and Queen Camilla were in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach rather than the older, more uncomfortable, Gold State Coach. Outside the palace gates, there was a Guard of Honour, comprising members of all the three armed services, with personnel lining the route along The Mall and down Whitehall. About four thousand invited quests, including armed forces veterans and National Health Service and social care staff, were in stands outside Buckingham Palace, with thousands more people in viewing areas along the route and several official screening sites nearby. More than two thousand people from two hundred and three different countries were in Westminster Abbey, with processions there before the King arrived involving faith leaders and representatives from some Commonwealth countries. They were followed by the governors general and prime ministers, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who also gave a reading in the service. The King arrived at the abbey wearing a red velvet robe of state. Underneath he was wearing trousers rather than the more traditional breeches and silk stockings worn by kings before him. The ceremony was punctuated with music selected by the King, with twelve newly commissioned pieces, including one by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and also Greek Orthodox music composed in memory of Prince Philip, the father of the King. Prince George, a grandson of the King, was among the pages. Some of those who walked ahead of the King through the abbey carried the regalia, placing most items on the altar until they were needed. The United Kingdom is, according to the Royal Family website, the only European country that still uses regalia  the symbols of royalty like the crown, orb and sceptres  in coronation. Each of the objects symbolise different aspects of the service and responsibilities of the next monarch. There were a few stages to the almost two-hour service. 
