Hundreds of military personnel paraded through the quiet streets of London as the first rehearsal for the King’s Coronation took place in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Around midnight, mounted troops departed Buckingham Palace and followed the procession route in preparation for the coronation on 6 May.

The ultimate guide to the King’s coronation

The King and Queen Consort, Camilla, will travel to and from Westminster Abbey via Parliament Square, along Whitehall, around Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and down The Mall to Buckingham Palace.

The procession route stretches to just 1.3 miles, a quarter of the length of the Queen’s five-mile celebratory journey which went through Piccadilly, Oxford Street and Regent Street in 1953.

The new King and Queen will travel in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach on their way to the ceremony and use the 260-year-old Gold State Coach for the return journey – although there was no sight of either coach at the rehearsal.

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More than 6,000 members of the UK’s armed forces and nearly 400 armed forces personnel from at least 35 Commonwealth countries will take part in the historic celebration, making it the largest military ceremonial operation in 70 years.

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