Officials at the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) are in talks with Buckingham Palace over the chances of the colourful spectacle going ahead despite rain and cloud, the Telegraph reports.
The flypast over Buckingham Palace will mark the end of King Charles III’s official crowning ceremony on May 6 and is scheduled to take place at 2.30pm.
Members of the Royal family are expected to watch from the palace balcony if it goes ahead.
But it could be canned as late as an hour or two beforehand.
The Red Arrows, 16 helicopters and the historic Spitfires from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight are set to be involved in the procession – with more than 60 aircraft taking to the skies.
Coronation rehearsal for HM King Charles III | Wednesday 3rd May 2023
Expert pilots plan to make their way over parts of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex on the way to London as part of the route, and are expected to be watched by thousands of revellers. The exact timings and locations have not been disclosed due to security reasons.
But wet weather could hinder the display, with the Met Office warning that rain is likely to arrive in London by around lunchtime as it spreads across the southern third of the UK.
Grey clouds are expected to linger as low as 200 metres above the ground. The BBC has predicted a similar outlook with the wettest part of the day set to be between 1pm and 5pm.
However temperatures will be mild, with a high of 18C and low of 12C in the capital.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told the Telegraph that “weather checks will take place in advance of the main flypast” but “there are a number of contingencies in place”.
Flypasts have been cancelled previously, including the second flypast of the Platinum Jubilee weekend last year, and the flypast for the 2012 Diamond Jubilee were called off due to bad weather.
The coronation procession will set off at 10.20am on Saturday from Buckingham Palace and head toward Westminster Abbey, giving fans an opportunity to watch the fanfare.
The ceremony at Westminster Abbey will end at 1pm and the newly crowned King and Queen will begin the procession back to Buckingham Palace in the gold state coach.
On Sunday, when the coronation concert concert is taking place, cloud and light showers are forecast for London.
