Brussels: Europe and the Arabs - agencies
It did not occur to King Charles that his coronation ceremony and his celebration of sitting on the throne of Britain would be delayed for all these years that he spent from childhood until he assumed the position of crown prince.
The Kingdom of Britain was not affected by the period of change that other kingdoms in Europe and abroad experienced when kings abdicated the throne to their sons, as happened in Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and others during the last decade in particular.
And the coronation ceremony that Britain is witnessing today, Saturday, is the first of its kind in more than seventy years, and it will cost the country more than 145 million dollars. During the weekend in central London, Monday was also declared a public holiday in the United Kingdom to celebrate the occasion and in order to enable people to participate in the celebration and follow it, whether in the streets or through the media.
The coronation, which will be officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, will begin on Saturday and will last three days of festivities across London and the UK, culminating in the public holiday on Monday, May 8.
On the other hand, Extra News channel showed a television report about the coronation ceremony of King Charles, and the report stated that the ceremony takes place at Westminster Abbey in the British capital, London, which comes 70 years after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and about 2,300 people were invited to this ceremony, including 100 heads of state.
The report added that tens of thousands of people are expected to attend along the path of the coronation procession, and about 7 thousand soldiers will participate in the procession that runs between Buckingham and Westminster, and more than 11,500 thousand security forces will be deployed in London.
The report pointed out that the security deployment will be the largest mobilization of police officers in one day, and the police will use facial recognition technology in central London.
The British are preparing for street parties and family celebrations during the bank holiday and royal coronation celebrations, and it is expected that about 200 million pounds will be spent on food and drink this weekend, according to the Daily Mail website, citing the Center for Retail Research.
Lidl, the supermarket chain, said it had sold enough bunting and flags to cover the distance of the road lined by the coronation revelers, 75 times.
There is also a great demand for products used in traditional British royal celebrations and events.
Overall, the Retail Research Center expects consumers to add more than £1.4 billion to the UK economy over the long weekend.