Is the King's Coronation flypast cancelled?
6 May 2023, 09:42 | Updated: 6 May 2023, 14:07
King Charles's coronation weather forecast could mean one of the day's highlights, the royal Red Arrows flypast is cancelled - but what's been said? Here are the latest updates.
The King's Coronation day is finally here and there's a full schedule for both Charles and Queen Camilla including a procession past London's best landmarks, a full service at Westminster Abbey and the highly-anticipated royal flypast.
As one of the key parts of the timetable for Saturday, May 6th, over 60 aircraft are expected to flyover Buckingham Palace in the finale of the big day at 2:30pm.
Some of the historic planes expected in the six-minute flypast are the Red Arrows, 16 helicopters, the Spitfires of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAF's brand-new P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and the transport aircraft from the RAF's Air Mobility Force.
However, experts have stepped forward to warn royal fans that this may not be the case as the weather is threatening whether the flypast can go ahead.
Read more: Prince Harry and Prince Andrew not part of royal procession as part of coronation, Palace confirms
Here's everything we know so far:
Is the Coronation flypast cancelled?
It's been confirmed the flypast is going ahead despite the weather, however, it has been scaled back slightly for safety purposes.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston had said while the rehearsals have been "superb", they were "50/50" as to whether it could go ahead.
He said: "The weather isn’t looking brilliant, but there’s nothing we can do about it. We have to be safe, we have to make sure that we aren’t taking any unnecessary risks.
“We’ll make a weather call one or two hours before the actual moment, but if there’s rain and low cloud then it will be almost impossible to get it through.
“It’s 50/50 at the moment, but we have lots of options, the decision will be made, at this stage we’re hoping for the best.”
Everything you need to know about the King’s coronation
What is the weather forecast for Coronation day?
A cloudy and wet day has been forecast for London on King Charles's Coronation day.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Matthew Lehnert said: “An area of rain is expected to move into southwest England early on Saturday, moving northeast through the day with some heavy bursts at times. This is likely to bring some rain to London from mid-morning.
"Under the cloud and rain, temperatures will be subdued with 16 °C in London, whilst 20 °C is likely in sunnier northwest Scotland.”
