The Coronation of HM King Charles III
May 2023

The Coronation of HM King Charles III on 6^th May 2023, was an incredible event for The Flag Consultancy to be involved in.  We had not seen a new monarch crowned for 70 years, making this a hugely important event and once in a lifetime experience for many people. The occasion had a distinctive upbeat atmosphere compared to the sombre event of the Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II just last year.

During the weeks leading up to Coronation Day, our specialist riggers installed flags in The Mall, Parliament Square, QVM Gardens and Windsor. The team were faced with some challenges that had not been present for the Queen’s funeral.  The spring weather brought rain and wind for much of the setup. There was a very tight turnaround after the London Marathon install and derig, plus significant road closures around the Palace and Windsor Castle due to the extremely tight security in place. The added pressure of having to negotiate the scaffold and crowd structures in place for the Coronation, and particularly the concert in Windsor, caused access for our vehicles and equipment to be heavily compromised.

A combination of other factors such as the length of time the flags were up, meant some flags had to be removed, laundered or repaired, and re-installed. This added to the complexity of the work over the period of the celebrations, but our riggers overcame them with all their collective years of unrivalled experience.

We are so proud of what the team achieved despite these challenges; successfully “dressing London and Windsor” to celebrate our new Monarch. We are now looking forward to another busy summer season with our annual events including Trooping the Colour, Wimbledon and Qatar Goodwood and a State Visit in London, probably in the Autumn.