UK

King’s Coronation Concert to feature Union Flag-shaped stage

The King’s Coronation Concert will feature a Union Flag-shaped stage.

Around 20,000 members of the public are expected to attend the event next Saturday where they will be greeted by a stage lit in red, white and blue against the background of the East terrace of Windsor Castle, according to mock-up pictures released by the BBC.

The stage will fan out into the audience and have a halo-like screen surrounding the roof, which the broadcaster said will “symbolise the Crown protecting the nation”.

The BBC said that together with the parapet wall steps in the middle, the staging creates multiple levels for the 74-piece classical ensemble – formed from the strings of the Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra and woodwind, brass and percussion sections from the Bands of the Household Division – to make an abstracted Union Jack.

Four additional catwalks, which also form the flag shape, will allow fans to see the acts close up.

The orchestra will sit at the back of the stage in front of the castle.

The concert, hosted by Paddington and Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville, will feature pre-recorded video sketches of Hollywood star Tom Cruise, Dynasty actress Dame Joan Collins, adventurer Bear Grylls and singer Sir Tom Jones revealing little-known facts about the monarch.

Take That, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie will perform, alongside Paloma Faith, Olly Murs, veteran rock guitarist Steve Winwood, and Nicole Scherzinger of The Pussycat Dolls.

Read more from Sky News:
Little-known facts about the coronation
All the places you can watch on a big screen

The ultimate guide to the King’s coronation

Historic ‘recycled’ thrones

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Historic thrones recycled from past coronations

The coronation service itself will feature a recycled royal coat of arms that decorated a chair used during King George VI’s coronation.

After the King is crowned he will move to a throne chair used by his grandfather and now re-upholstered but featuring the original embroidered coats of arms on the front and back that have been conserved.

The Queen Consort has an identical chair, which was used by the Queen Mother during George VI’s coronation in 1937, but her coat of arms has replaced that of the Queen Mother, having been newly embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework (RSN).

Caroline de Guitaut, deputy surveyor of the King’s Works of Art at the Royal Collection Trust, said: “For His Majesty King Charles III’s coronation he has wanted very much to re-use things where possible and obviously it’s an incredibly efficient and sustainable thing to do.

“So it’s giving the chairs I suppose a new life in a slightly different guise, but at the same time respecting that they are historic objects, and conserving them for the future.”