Coronation weekend ramps up across the UK. The transition from Queen Elizabeth to King Charles as monarch has been planned for years, down to the smallest detail.

The world event takes place on May 6. This is the first time since 1902, when King Edward VII was crowned, that the coronation has been added to a Saturday.

Charles is said to have wanted a shorter, more inclusive and cheaper ceremony, but at the same time it was important to reflect the long tradition, wrote Telegraph.

Code name

The transition from Elizabeth to Charles as monarch was codenamed Operation Golden Orb. Golden Orb refers to the Sovereign’s Orb, a golden ball with a cross on top. The royal apple was one of several royal regalia used at coronations, and symbolized the territory the king would rule over. Golden ball is also the name of a family of spiders, known for their large and impressive spider webs, spun with silk that shines like gold in the sun. One of the more curious facts about these spiders is that the females are 50 times larger than the males. Gold silk thread is very durable. Silk thread from 1.2 million spiders was used in the golden robe displayed in wood Victoria and Albert Museum London.

Heavy duty

At the coronation, King Charles will receive his share of gold: the crown placed on his head weighs 2.23 kilograms. In addition, he will wear the so-called super tunic, which is made of 3-4 kilograms of gold gullamé – a fabric woven from silk thread covered with gold, and also the royal mantle “Imperial Coat”, which is also embroidered with gold. The heir to the throne, Prince William, will help his father acquire a total of about 10 kilograms of gold.

Reunited with Harry

Last week, the wax statue of Prince Harry was reunited with the statue of the royal couple, Prince William and Princess Catherine at Madame Tussaud’s museum. The figures have been made up and dressed for the coronation, and Duchess Meghan is not included, as she will not be coming to the coronation. As soon as coronation weekend is over, Harry will be transported back to the A-list section of Hollywood, where a grinning wax version of him has stood by his wife Meghan since they stepped down from royal duties in 2020, according to Glass.

Coincidentally, Coronation Day is also the 4th birthday of King Charles’ grandson, Prince Archie. The little prince celebrated his birthday at home with mother Meghan in the US, while father Harry was in London.

New coronation music and equality

King Charles personally chose the music for his coronation, incl 12 latest works, by Scottish film composer Patrick Doyle and music composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, among others.

Other new elements during the coronation included singing in Welsh, gospel music and Greek Orthodox music in memory of the King’s late father, Prince Philip, who was born in Greece. When singers from Westminster School appeared it was also something new, because this time it was a mixed choir. When Queen Elizabeth was crowned, there were only boys in the school choir.

Uber offers a coronation train

According to tradition, the newly crowned royal couple will be transported from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace in the 260-year-old Gold State Coach carriage. But for those who want a similar ride, Uber is offering three days of transportation in a replica of a golden chariot pulled by horses, reports Evening Standard.

Yarn bombing

The whole of Great Britain is marked by world events, and in Hurst near Reading, a group of friends ‘Hurst Hookers’ have been knitting and crocheting royal figures ahead of the coronation. 29 figures were released, in line with the new trend in recent years, thread bombing. This is a form of street art where you crochet or knit placed decorations. Unlike graffiti and other forms of street art, string bombs can be removed if necessary.

Chocolate version

At the Cadbury World chocolate factory in Birmingham, confectioners Dawn Jenks and Donna Oluban have completed a 45 centimeter tall chocolate replica of St Edward’s crown. It took two days to create a cute replica of the headdress of King Charles III who was about to be crowned. The work is decorated with colored edible glitter.

By comparison, the Mars Wrigley company spent four weeks creating a 23-kilogram chocolate statue of Charles. based on BBC Mini chocolates are famously used to highlight the details of the uniforms, including Snickers, Mars and Bounty.

King of Legoland

At Legoland in Berkshire, six employees spent 1,000 hours and more than 32,000 Lego blocks visualizing the coronation and the royal family. On a Lego balcony modeled after Buckingham Palace, the newly crowned royal couple greeted the public, flanked by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, reports BBC.

Extended pouring time

Pubs, clubs and bars across England and Wales can also extend their opening hours by two hours on Friday and Saturday during coronation weekend. It was the government that allowed pouring in pubs until 1pm the night before and on the day of the coronation itself, so that the public “could enjoy an extra pint or two”. The reasons for allowing widespread sale of alcohol are, according to BBC that the coronation was “an important event worthy of special celebration”.