UPDATE 2 - Britain's King Charles III crowned at Westminster Abbey in London

UPDATES WITH CORONATION, REVISES HEADLINE AND DECK, CHANGES THROUGHOUT

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) — In the country's first coronation service in nearly 70 years, Britain's King Charles III on Saturday was crowned along with Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey, the site of coronations in Britain since 1066 — nearly a millennium ago.

Charles, 74, and Camilla, 75, left the palace for Westminster Abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, in what is traditionally known as the King's Procession.

Accompanied by the Sovereign's Escort guards, they traveled along The Mall outside the palace, through the Admiralty Arch, passing to the south of the King Charles Island statue in Trafalgar Square before turning onto Whitehall Road leading to the church.

The procession continued down Whitehall and along the east and south sides of Parliament Square.

They arrived at Westminster Abbey for the coronation service after completing a route stretching some 2.1 kilometers (1.3 miles) from Buckingham Palace.

Following the coronation service, conducted by the archbishop of Canterbury, the senior bishop of the Church of England, Charles was crowned with the historical St. Edward's Crown, while Queen Camilla wore a modified version of the Crown of Queen Mary, fashioned in 1911.

During the ceremony, Charles, dressed in symbolic "vestments," was presented with items of Regalia, including the Orb and the Sovereign's Scepters representing the monarch's religious and moral authority.

A fanfare was sounded, the abbey bells rang for two minutes, and a gun salute was fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery stationed at Horse Guards Parade.

This was accompanied by Gun Salutes at His Majesty's Fortress the Tower of London fired by the Honourable Artillery Company, and at all Saluting Stations throughout the UK, Gibraltar, Bermuda, and ships at sea.

- Royal Salute, balcony appearance, fly past

Following the service, Charles and Camilla set out from the Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace in the 260-year-old Gold State Coach, in the larger ceremonial Coronation Procession.

When they arrive at the palace, Charles and Camilla will be received by the UK and Commonwealth Armed Forces with a royal salute.

Balcony appearances are expected as a fly past by the Defense Ministry will take place over Buckingham Palace.

Military personnel from the UK's Armed Forces, numbering 6,000, are on duty during the coronation, along with roughly 400 from at least 35 Commonwealth countries.

Charles ascended the throne on Sept. 8, 2022, following the death of his long-serving mother Queen Elizabeth II.

He is the 40th British monarch to take the traditional Oath of Faithful Service.

In taking the crown, Charles also became head of the Commonwealth, an association of 56 independent countries and 2.5 billion people. For 14 of these countries, as well as the UK, the king is head of state.

These countries, known as the Commonwealth realms, are Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.

Along with millions of people taking to the streets to witness the spectacle, more than 2,200 distinguished figures, including members of the royal family, representatives from 203 countries, and some 100 heads of state, were also at the event.

Attendees include Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, all living former British premiers, first ministers of devolved national governments, members of foreign royal families, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, China's Vice President Han Zheng, US first lady Jill Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Irish President Michael Higgins, and dozens of other heads of states and foreign dignitaries.

Prince Harry, the son of Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is also among the attendees while his wife Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, did not attend.