The King’s Coronation – Amy’s Recollections of a Special Day

The King’s Coronation – Amy’s Recollections of a Special Day

I was lucky enough to have been selected to attend the King’s coronation on Saturday the 7th of May. I was part of the 0.0012% of the UK’s Royal Air Force Air Cadets to take part in this prestigious event. Obviously, due to the immensely large scale of this event, there was a lot of strict organisation and planning involved, with cadets coming under Operation GOLDEN ORB.

My journey to the coronation started with the train down to Peterborough station, to be picked up by coach and taken to RAF Wittering. Once everyone was briefed and uniform was inspected, we had our final brief of the evening which entailed timings for the King’s coronation day, however it meant finding out we had a 2am start on Saturday morning to get the coach into central London.

Saturday morning’s early start meant we left RAF Wittering around 3am, travelling into central London to Wellington Barracks. After a brief at the Barracks, we were placed in the stands near the Marble Arch. This was a surreal moment as we had one of the best views of the procession and parade elements of the day. Following the completion of the parade, we formed up on the Mall along with other cadet forces, and police escorted us all the way down to Buckingham palace gates. This was one of the highlights of my day, and it was an unbelievable experience to have had, standing at the open gates of Buckingham palace.

Overall I am so lucky to have been selected to be in attendance at the coronation, alongside other extremely high achieving cadets in the organisation, and to be a part of such a big event like this is one of my biggest achievements within my time in the RAF Air Cadets. I met so many great people within the organisation and have made great friends for life through this honoured experience.

Amy Parker, Year 13
Flight Sergeant
Northallerton 2337 Sqn, Central & East Yorkshire wing, North Region