The heavens open over London as royal superfans are SOAKED in downpours a day before Coronation

Royal superfans have been soaked by torrential downpours today as the heavens opened up over London just a day before King Charles’s historic Coronation.

Though the capital was drenched in heavy rain, spirits remained high as fans flock to the Mall to await the magnificent procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey tomorrow, where Charles will officially be crowned King.

A soaked but smiling Trisha Hollis, 71, said: ‘It’s history and I think at my age it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I think I was two when the Queen was crowned but obviously I have no recollection of that. I admire the royal family, I’m glad we have them. I think the Queen did a sterling job.’

She added: ‘What will be will be. It’s 24 hours in my life. I will get dry and warm again sometime so I’ll grin and bear it. If you come back to me at 2am I might not be saying it with such a smile. Maybe we’ll have a nice day tomorrow but it did rain for the Queen in ’53.’

It comes as forecasters revealed the weather for Saturday’s spectacle, with Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin saying: ‘There will be outbreaks of rain in London from 8am onwards, nothing too heavy, it’s just going to be a bit grey, damp and drizzly.

‘It won’t rain all morning, just a bit on-and-off with some drizzle, it may stop for half an hour or so and come back again, that kind of thing.

‘It will probably stay like that into the afternoon before it perhaps gets a little brighter but generally staying drab for most of the day.’

Joan, 70, has been camping out since Wednesday and burst into tears after shaking King Charles’ hand, she said: ‘Charles stepped out of the car and walked towards us and he said has anybody over nighted and he was shaking a few hands.

‘I said yes I did and he looked and he could see that my hair is really sticking up, and yes I am sleeping one the pavement, he leaned forward purposefully and shook my hand.

‘It was just so beautiful, I am proud of being here today. I burst into tears afterwards.

‘I have been here for William’s wedding, Harry’s wedding, the jubilee and now I’ve come for the coronation. I wish himself and Camilla the very best. I think they’re both good people.’

The King and Queen Consort’s procession will set off from Buckingham Palace at around 10.20am, when there is likely to be light wind and rain.

Temperatures will reach highs of 17C by the afternoon, which is around average for the time of year.

Plenty of Brits enjoyed boozy celebrations overnight along the procession route – and even though some people chose to sleep in camping chairs, they still said they ‘wouldn’t want to be anywhere else’.

Several days before Coronation Day, a sea of tents – dubbed ‘King Charles’ Camp’ – appeared on the Mall and with just one night left to wait, the royalists have been getting into the spirit of the celebration with gin, champagne and whiskey. 

Patriotic campers swathed in Union Flags and stocked up with food, booze and bunting, many of whom also camped out for the Queen’s funeral in September, are settled in for Saturday.

Retired nurse Linda McQuaid arranged to attend the Coronation with a group of people she met at the Queen’s funeral.

However the 67-year-old slept only in a sleeping bag without a tent, but insisted: ‘It was fine. I was really warm – sleeping bag inside a survival bag. I got my head right inside there.

‘I’m really excited because I think the pageantry, the history, the British constitution, you can’t beat it really.

She told the MailOnline her original plan was to come to the Mall today, but when she saw how crowded the route was becoming she decided to come up a day early.

Elsewhere houses, streets and schools across the country are decked out in red, white and blue as they prepare to celebrate the new King – with hundreds of thousands of people still to arrive in the capital before Saturday.

Julie Pearce, who works at Asda, travelled from Swindon this morning with her family to set up camp a day before the coronation.

The 55-year-old said she has ‘never camped before’ but that she has been ‘excited for weeks and weeks and weeks’.

‘We’ve got a tent, we’ve got loads of food, we’re gonna make a cream tea later on,’ she added.

Other eager fans who have arrived more than 24 hours early haven’t even brought a tent, choosing instead to sleep on a chair outside or on the floor.

Sandra Marshall, an event manager from Liverpool, joined to keen crowd yesterday evening but felt the chilly weather overnight.

She said: ‘We’re here for three nights. It was fine – a little bit cold, because were not properly prepared, but great atmosphere

‘We’re collecting an afternoon tea this afternoon, we’ve got our psalm house botanical gin, we’ve got some Pimm’s and lemonade to go with our afternoon tea , and lots and lots of snacks.’

Nicola Douglas, 54, whose favourite royal is the ‘cheeky and gorgeous’ Prince Louis, told the MailOnline: ‘I’m here because I love the royal family, it’s a one off, I’ve never been to a coronation in my life before, and you’ve got to be part of it really. It doesn’t happen every day.

‘We’re not family – we’re great friends from home. We love socialising, we love dancing to ABBA together, we are just girlies having fun in our 50s loving life, and 24 hours here having a bit of a party is fantastic.

‘I’m excited, looking forward  to seeing the gold carriages and what everyone’s going to be wearing.

‘It’s very British, and it’s a bit mad, but you know what I’d you can’t do it in Britain where can you do it. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.’

A married mother of four joked that her children think she is ‘mad’ and having a ‘midlife crisis’ because she is camping out on The Mall in central London for the coronation.

Kim Bilson, 54, from Poole, Dorset, said: ‘It’s too big of an occasion to miss really, don’t want to look back at it and think, why didn’t we do it.

‘It’s a lovely atmosphere here, meeting people from all over the place.’

She arrived at about 6pm on Thursday and said it was a ‘cold’ and ‘noisy’ experience camping out overnight.

But she added: ‘People are just so friendly. It’s just Britain at its best, everybody nattering to everybody. There’s no stiff upper lip, everybody’s here for the same reason and it’s just really nice.’

Richard Turner, 54, travelled from Southend-on-Sea with just his chair as he thought it would take up less space.

His first royal event was in 1977, when he attended the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and he has been to every major royal event since.

‘Some people chose to bring tents but I brought a chair, an umbrella, some food, some drink, that’s all I need,’ he said.

On sleeping in his chair, he said: ‘It was nice. A little bit uncomfortable but you get used to it – after about six hours you get used to it.’

On the route to Buckingham Palace yesterday, MailOnline met people from all over the UK and across the globe, including the United States, Canada and Commonwealth nations.

One couple came from New Zealand for a trip that will cost them £5,000 and are camped near a group of women nicknamed ‘The Golden Girls’, who met for the first time at the Platinum Jubilee last year and agreed to reunite in the same spot for the Coronation.

Many are sleeping in tents – one man has had two stolen already – but some are just sleeping on the floor. With rain and thunder forecast in the coming days, many are likely to get very wet but vowed not to let Britain’s spring weather dampen their spirits. 

Veterans Geoff York and Gary Nolan were among those camping out on the Mall last night ahead of the Coronation of King Charles III.

Friends for nearly 50 years, Mr York and Mr Nolan set up two tents along the procession route as they prepare for Saturday’s festivities.

‘We’ve got sleeping bags, gas stoves, Gary’s got his kettle,’ said Mr York. ‘We’ve got our own food, our own drink. We’ve got everything we need actually. I’m looking forward to Saturday. It’s something that doesn’t happen very often, a Coronation. I am looking forward to it.’

Mr Nolan added: ‘I am looking forward to seeing all the troops, the guys and girls marching past. There’s going to be about 10,000 troops in the parade on Saturday so that will be quite a spectacle.’

Mr York said the pair will be keeping themselves entertained over the next day by listening to Motown music on their Bluetooth speaker and drinking beer and wine.

‘We’ve got some booze, got to get some more wine later,’ he said. ‘We’re going up to Tesco to get some more wine and some beer. We’re self-sufficient, Gary and I. We aren’t going to go to the burger bars or nothing like that.’

‘We’ll go to Tesco, come back and have a little boogey,’ Mr Nolan added.

One group of friends and family from Surrey set up at the Mall at 8am today to secure their spot. Jenny and Phyllis stayed put last night, as well as new friend Susan, while the rest of the group went back to Surrey for the night.

‘I’ve set up my bivvy bag and decorated it with a cheap duvet cover,’ said Jenny.

Phyllis said: ‘I am going to manage in the chair because I did the Queen’s funeral in the chair. And I figure I can do it again, but this time it’s two nights.’

Phyllis said she’s most looking forward to seeing the Golden Carriage as it processes in the parade on Saturday. But Jenny says she’s most excited about the camaraderie of the royal fans gathering together.

‘I just love this whole experience. I just I don’t even know what is going to happen. I’m just here to enjoy and meet all these people,’ she said.

Phyllis added: ‘The camaraderie is amazing. And you know you when I did the Queen’s funeral, we had five of us who never met before. We’ve all got a WhatsApp group that’s been buzzing all week. And I’ve never met them again. We’re all like, feel like we’re really connected now.

‘And everyone’s been stressing about what day we should get here for watching this. But this is going to be a much more joyful occasion. It’s lovely.’

Jenny added: ‘Phyllis is much more sociable than me. I just love pageantry.

‘This happens once a king. If you go to the city of London every year, there’s a new Lord Mayor. Every year there’s a Lord Mayor’s show. And everybody’s out in all their and robes and chains. It happens every year. So I’m loving this, but it’s not that different to what happens every year.’

Phyllis interrupted: ‘I think it’s going to be different, Jenny. I think you’re going to be blown away. We’re going to be blown away.

‘I’ve grown up, as you probably have, with stories of the Queen’s coronation. So that’s something that weighs in your brain. Everyone refers back to the Queen’s Coronation. There’s all this footage of the Queen’s coronation and who camped out.’

The group is excited to be witnessing a piece of history that they likely won’t get the opportunity to experience again.

Another group of friends from Devon – Dave, Ken, Irene and Lynn – even brought their own scones to the Mall to keep them fuelled ahead of Saturday’s ceremony. 

Dave told MailOnline he and his friends are looking forward to the party that will occur in celebration of Charles’ Coronation as they joked about the weather.

‘We are excited for party and all the pomp and pageantry, you know, all that – because they put on a good show, don’t they?’ he said. ‘We’re all very, very royalist.’

The group is lined up along the Mall without a tent in what Ken described as ‘roughing it.’

‘We’ve got whiskey, we’ve got wine. We’ve got beer. What’s our night looking like? Perfect. Enjoyable, enjoyable,’ said Dave.

‘It’s not going to rain… and on Saturday it is going to be absolutely glorious. No rain whatsoever.’

The group brought their own picnic which included lasagne for dinner and a Devon delicacy for dessert – a scone with cream and jam.

Meanwhile a family from Warwickshire enjoyed dinner on The Mall after making their campsite. They fetched pizzas from a shop in Trafalgar Square and are celebrating the historic event with Gin and Tonics.

‘We got into town sort of mid-morning, lunchtime today,’ Tracey said, adding: ‘We’ve got apples and gin!’

Claire said she is most excited to be ‘part of history’. ‘I look forward to seeing the pageantry of the old spectacle, celebrating Charles becoming king and Camilla becoming queen,’ she said.

The group has gathered along The Mall for other royal spectacles, such as the Jubilee and weddings, but this is the first time they have camped out.

‘We decided to camp out this time because we wanted a good spot, we wanted to see it,’ said Diane.

‘We knew where we wanted to sit. We knew where we wanted to stand. So that’s why we wanted to get here. And I’m glad now because nobody was here when we arrived at lunchtime, and now [everywhere’s] packed.’

Faith Nicholson, 61, from Althorne near Chelmsford, has been attending royal events for more than 40 years. 

She said: ‘I’ve been doing this now since 1981 and the crowds just get bigger and bigger and bigger at each event. Come Saturday, this is going to be packed.

‘We all look out for each other, we all watch each other’s tents, people bring us food, it’s just really nice.’

She added that she feels she ‘probably let the Queen down a bit’ by only camping on The Mall for four nights ahead of her funeral in September.

Not everyone in her family are as staunch supporters of the monarchy – but Mrs Nicholson doesn’t let that stop her: ‘My husband thinks I’m mad. My son, who is a policeman, I think he’s embarrassed.’

Karen Ayms, 53, is camping on The Mall with her friend and work colleague Becky Robertson, 29. She said there is a ‘real community feel’ to the gathering.

Ms Robertson added the atmosphere feels ‘a little bit like Glastonbury’ and that they have stocked up on plenty of gin and wine to toast the King with ahead of the big day. 

One group outside the Palace hail from as far away as Australia. 

Kathy Shepherd told MailOnline: ‘I came for the funeral and when I saw the haggard looks of Anne and Charles, I just thought you have done such a sterling job and your hearts are breaking, and I’m going to come to the Coronation to support you.’

Her friend Kate Edgar, who flew in from Down Under two weeks ago, said the group had plenty of champagne and whiskey in preparation for the big day. 

She said: ‘This is the ultimate [royal event] isn’t it. It will only ever happen once, maybe twice in our lifetimes.’

Army veteran Geoffrey York enjoyed an all-day breakfast in a tin this morning, costing £2.25, which includes baked beans, sausages, button mushrooms, chopped pork and egg nuggets with bacon burger pieces, all cooked up on a camping stove. 

Others tucked into smoked salmon and basil rolls as they sat on camping chairs next to their tents.

Hot drinks were also being consumed – with one group of five pictured with camping mugs as they stood next to crowd barriers on the famous road.

Mr York, 69, said he has been making hot drinks for fellow campers and told MailOnline: ‘You can either sleep rough or come prepared.’ He also has a table with a box of sugar, camping mug and milk on the table in front of him – as well as an opened pack of digestives.

Theresa D’souza, 72, and Betty Velgi, 79, were seen enjoying a homemade smoked salmon and basil roll each.

And another woman had a military-style ration pack in the form of a £4 boil in the bag full English breakfast.

Meanwhile Jessie Young, Margaret Tinsley, Eunice Hartstone, Elizabeth Couzens and Shirley Messinger all posed for a photograph holding their drinks.

Nicknamed the ‘Golden Girls’, they met at the Platinum Jubilee last year and decided to get together again to be in London for Charles’ Coronation. 

Tony Lown, 36, is at The Mall with three children and his niece aged seven to 11, and has been there since Wednesday afternoon.

He told MailOnline: ‘It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing for them to see, it’s an experience. We came for the funeral.’

Mr Lown, of Croydon, South London, said he had taken the children out of school to be at The Mall. Asked how the school reacted, he said: ‘Well we haven’t heard nothing yet, so we’ll take it as it comes, you know.’

He said they had ‘loads of food and there’s a McDonald’s down the road’. He has even set up a table for the children to complete ‘Coronation-related’ homework.

Mother-of-two Claire Swift, from Wigan, Greater Manchester, who turns 68 tomorrow, brought her mother’s teddy to The Mall and admitted her family think she is ‘nuts’ for camping out.

She told MailOnline: ‘I said at Christmas I was going to come for the King’s Coronation and then it coincided with my birthday and I thought ‘great, why not’?

‘It’s the first occasion that I’ve been to and I’ve met these people who’ve been coming to state occasions since Diana and Charles’s wedding. They’ve been coming to everything so they’re a dab hand with the rules and regulations and protocol of camping out. It’s been absolutely great.’

Asked what her family think of her camping out, she said: ‘I think they just think, ‘it’s my mother, she’s nuts’. I’ve got two sons – one lives in Australia and one lives in Hale near Manchester.’

Ms Swift continued: ‘Last night I borrowed a yoga mat from (fellow camper) Faith because I lost my self-inflatable mattress. So we’re going to walk down to Argos later on to get a self-inflatable mattress. So hopefully I’ll have a better night’s sleep than last night.

‘But it was great – you could hear everybody outside, it was nice and cosy. Then this morning I woke up to somebody saying ‘good morning, are you awake, how did you sleep’? And it was BBC News.’

Ms Swift said she had brought a bear which once belonged to her mother who used to work in a hospice shop in Wigan.

She added: ‘When my mum died, it came to live with me, and he normally just sits on the sideboard. So when I was grabbing my bag yesterday to come down I just said to teddy ‘do you facing coming to the Coronation?’ And off he went in my bag and he’s here – he’s a bit shell-shocked because normally he has a very boring life.’

There may be a carnival atmosphere on The Mall, with groups sharing food and drink – but camping out for the big day has not been a positive experience for all, as some have been targeted by thieves stealing their tents and valuables when they need the toilet, MailOnline can reveal. 

One fan had two tents stolen in 48 hours when he went to the toilet. Patrick McCrossan, a Northern Irishman living in London, has been forced to sleep in his deck chair and told MailOnline that he is scared to go for a comfort break in case he is targeted again. He joked: ‘I’m not going to bathroom again.’

Mr McCrossan’s GoPro and various phone chargers were also stolen, despite The Mall being at the heart of the biggest security operation in British history with a record 11,500 police officers on duty in London this weekend.

He said he is disgusted that criminals are using the Coronation as an ‘opportunity’ to steal from royal well-wishers.

‘I think that they must have overheard me saying about going to the toilet’, he told MailOnline.

Mr McCrossan said: ‘My stuff got stolen – twice. I’ve got no tent now. I had to buy two new chairs and my tents gone, twice. I couldn’t get it a third time.’

Asked if he had told the police, he said: ‘No – I don’t see any cameras anywhere. I think what it was was there were some guys, some people milling around. I’ve been to so many of these events over the years – I thought it was all right to say that I’m only going to the toilet.

‘There were some that weren’t open, so I went up towards Green Park to go to the toilet up there and I thought that would be fine. And when I came back, they were gone. And I thought oh s***, someone’s gone off with my stuff.

‘My bag had phone chargers and all sorts of things in it and my GoPro. I bought my GoPro, £659, in March for my birthday and it was gone. I lost a lot of stuff. I’d got myself a GoPro for my birthday because I go to that many interesting places and see interesting things.’

He continued: ‘If I get enough trust in people around me, even though they’ve just come, I think they’re alright – but I’ve just got to be sure I can go away and feel that I’m not going to come back and it would be all gone. I’d be tempted to go and get another tent as there’s one in Piccadilly.’

Bartley Graham, 34, arrived at The Mall on Wednesday after discharging himself from hospital. He has joined dozens of people gathered in front of the Palace ahead of the King’s Coronation, with tents set up to enable them to get a prime spot.

Mr Graham, from County Durham, said: ‘I should have been here earlier, but the hospital scenario made it impossible. I self-discharged this morning purely so I could be here.

‘It’s important I’m here to get a good view of the procession, as I did for the Jubilee. I came out for Prince Phillip’s funeral even though there was a risk I might be fined at the time.

‘I queued for 30 hours at Balmoral to see the Queen’s coffin a first time, and I queued 30 hours a second time at the Houses of Parliament.

‘Then I passed out and had a stroke, and all I could blame was exhaustion. If it happens again, I’m in the right place, London’s hospitals are the best in the country. I love being out here.’

Mr Graham came wearing a suit printed with Union Jacks and carrying a cardboard cut-out of Charles, who he thinks will be ‘a fantastic King’.

‘I like King Charles, and I definitely like Lady Camilla,’ he said. ‘Charles will be a fantastic King and will do a great job, he has some really strong values, and I think Lady Camilla has fallen into the role very well.’

Kerry Evans, 58, from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, who also arrived at The Mall on Thursday said she ‘would rather die’ than miss the King’s Coronation.

‘I can’t camp out like I used to, I’ve got a heart condition and small vessel disease,’ she said.

‘Every time I come out to an event like this I end up in casualty, because I just exhaust myself, but I’ve really paced myself this time.

‘Nothing would stop me, I would rather die supporting the Royal Family than not be part of all this,’ she continued. ‘I’ll probably suffer for three or four months after an event like this.’

Ms Evans, who is a writer and a full-time carer, hopes the King will be a champion for diversity. ‘The King is being very quiet at the minute, I think he’s waiting to see what people want,’ she said.

‘I hope he’ll be a strong King in terms of change and diversity, race, disability.’

Other fans have travelled from further afield. Carol Bush, 62, who comes from California but now lives in London, and Ardis Ryburg, 61, from Arkansas, came out to The Mall together ‘to support’ the late Queen.

‘We loved her, and she wanted her boy to do this, so we want to support her,’ Ms Bush said. ‘The Queen just gave and gave and gave, and really took her job as a monarch seriously.

‘We’re going to come back in 20 years for her grandson, we’ll be old in our wheelchairs and we’ll be here for William,’ she continued. ‘I can’t wait for the carriage, I want to see the golden carriage come back out again.’

The coronation itself will take place in Westminster Abbey on Saturday, with the Coronation Big Lunch and Coronation Concert on Sunday.

Members of the public have been encouraged to take part in The Big Help Out on Bank Holiday Monday by volunteering for local organisations.

The first glimpses of the Coronation procession seen during a rehearsal overnight have given an insight into what the pageantry will look like and who will be involved. 

The procession returning to Buckingham Palace down The Mall will feature the Gold State Coach. King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will sit in it as they are greeted by crowds.