buckingham palace in central london, and the mall is the focal point during royal celebrations. preparation for the event has been a long time in the planning. and people have been camping out for days to get a prime spot to watch the monarch en route to westminster abbey. well, i m here now, i was inside the house and we are the first persons here. i was here on thursday. we came on the 27th with my friend carol. hello. we got here at 4:00 and round about 6:00. it poured down to the heavens, and we had this tarpaulin and we put that up. it s been miserable and cold and it s horrible. of course, it s our first coronation and we re so excited because a lot don t see a coronation in a lifetime. a front row seat at the parade will guarantee good views of this gleaming treasure. this coach will bring charles and camilla from the palace to westminster abbey. well, it s the first time that this carriage has been used at a coronation. it was delivered to queen elizabeth, the second
i was here on thursday, with my friend, carol. we got here at four o clock and at around six o clock it poured down to the heavens. it was cold, it was horrible. where are you sleeping? here, in a chair, because government guidelines say we were not allowed to pitch tents, and that is why i did not bring one. we came yesterday at teatime and set up camp. we wanted to be at the front. did you feeljealous of other people with tents around? i wouldn t say jealous, i am quite happy because last night i did cheat a little and snuck back to the house for a couple of hours when i got really cold. a bit naughty, but still. where are you sleeping? these chairs recline right back. we have our food and drinks and clothes. last time i was here for was for diana s funeral. i even brought my alarm clock for the news. this time i haven t brought it. i have it on my iphone instead. brought it. i have it on my iphone instead. that is my home. talk iphone instead. that is my home. talk me
bringing you the regalia, processions and ancient rituals. we ll have all that and more, including the crowning moment itself later today at westminster abbey. these are pictures from inside the venue and how it will look for the grand ceremony. you can see the ornate chairs taking centre stage there, on top of the medieval mosaic floor of the church. crowds have been camping out ahead of the big day. they were treated to a surprise visit by king charles, the prince and the princess of wales. charles went to one side of the mall while william and kate went to the other. many continued to camp out despite the london rain, to save a spot on the procession route. let s go live now to bbc correspondent louisa pilbeam at the mall in london. we don t see you at the moment but i think you are standing among the crowd. we just looked this up, it s around 11 celsius in london, 50 fahrenheit, but it seems people are keeping warm. . ., warm. yeah, hello, i m here, don tworry. warm.
first, there is no doubt about the main broadcasting event of the weekend, and the bbc, along with the rest of the media, have been gearing up for the coronation all week. we ll be looking in more detail next week at how bbc news has covered the ceremony and the celebrations around it. but in the meantime, here s royal correspondent nicholas witchell on the preparations being made over the past few days. in the potteries and other places in the souvenir business, they ve been gearing up for this moment for months. turning out the mugs and plates and a host of other goods which commemorate the coronation. it all means jobs and a significant boost for trade. by the time that report was shown on tuesday. mike dixon had already had enough. i accept that the coronation is newsworthy, but the coverage is utterly sycophantic and certainly not balanced . we constantly hear everyone will be celebrating, everyone will be partying, everyone will be watching it . but the bbc are ignor