Royal superfans set up coronation camp in the Mall a week before the big day!

Royal superfans have already set up a coronation camp on the Mall – a full week before the King is due to be crowned.

A huge blue tarpaulin has been attached to the railings to keep them dry, while a camp bed and several bags can be spotted underneath.

The wacky contraption’s inhabitants can be seen getting comfortable – with one wearing a fetching Union Jack hoodie and a flagged-up hat covered in patriotic badges.

Believed to be royal devotee John Loughrey – he is no stranger to being at the front of crowds at major royal events.

Mr Loughrey, who lives in south London, earned a reputation as Princess Diana’s number one fan after quitting his job working in a kitchen so he could attend every court session of the inquest into her death in 2008.

Some of the Royals’ biggest fans – the pair are at the destination seven days before King Charles’ procession is set to head up and down the famous road, which has Buckingham Palace at one end.

Mr Loughrey spent days on a bench outside the hospital where Prince George was born in 2013 and did it again for Princess Charlotte in 2015 and Prince Louis in 2018. He also attends Westminster Abbey every week to say a prayer for Diana. 

And after the death of the Queen he tried to camp for the full 10 day mourning period outside Buckingham Palace – but he was told to pack away his tent for ‘security reasons’ as crowds descended.

To mark the 20th anniversary of her death in 2017, Mr Loughrey and a small group of supporters hung large tribute banners on the gates of Kensington Palace, her former London home. 

It comes as members of the Household Division rehearse the military accompaniment to the coronation at Aldershot Barracks. 

Around 700 Guardsmen, officers and bands of the Household Division took part in the rehearsal ahead of the big day. 

The coronation will see the largest military ceremonial operation in 70 years, with more than 6,000 men and women of the UK’s armed forces taking part in the historic royal event.

Sailors, soldiers, and aviators from across the UK and the breadth of the Commonwealth will accompany Charles and Camilla to and from Westminster Abbey.

Later in the day, military personnel will conduct a six-minute flypast of more than 60 aircraft from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.

In all corners of the Union – including at firing stations in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast – gun salutes will take place to herald the moment the King is crowned.

The ceremony will also be the first major ceremonial occasion since the late Queen’s funeral in September.

Featuring more than 400 personnel, across 13 locations and deployed Royal Navy ships, 21 rounds will fire to mark the coronation with the exception of the Tower of London and Horse Guards Parade, where a 62-round salute and a six-gun salvo will fire respectively.

The Ensign for the Coldstream Guards Lieutenant Lachlan de Klee said his relatives had taken part in the past two coronations, while his ancestor the Duke of Rothes, John Leslie, carried the sword of state after the restoration of the monarchy.

And Lieutenant Archie Denison-Smith is due to carry the same sword during King Charles III’s coronation that his great-grandfather carried during the 1953 coronation.

Brits are busy polishing their buttons and hanging out their flags – with just a week to go until King Charles is crowned.

One – who is perhaps more excited than most – is super-patriotic Anita Atkinson, who has the largest collection of royal memorabilia in the UK.

The 66-year-old has amassed a staggering 13,500 pieces of memorabilia over 46 years, dating back to the reign of Queen Anne, and has already been busy adding to her huge collection in the form of King Charles mementoes ahead of the coronation.

Equipped with her royal, golden stamp and surrounded by her impressive collection, the grandmother of five got to work testing and giving her seal of approval to Aldi’s new coronation range.

Workers are busily preparing the mall, as central London gets ready to host the global event on May 6.

Stores are already fully stocked with memorabilia, while the monarch’s image is plastered across shop windows and street stalls.

And across the country, communities are getting ready to celebrate the bank holiday and ring in his new reign in true British style.

It is set to be a weekend packed with celebration – in which more than a million are expected to enjoy street parties.

3,299 public events and 497 street parties have already been shared on the Government’s official map. 

Yesterday, with eight days to go, the historic Stone of Destiny left Scotland for London under tight security.

Also known as the Stone of Scone, monarchs have been crowned upon the ancient coronation stone for centuries.

According to myth, the ancient rock was used by the biblical Jacob as a pillow and later kept in King Solomon’s temple.

It was brought to England from Scotland on the orders of King Edward I in 1296.

In September, spoon bender Uri Geller urged Scotland to return the Coronation Chair – saying the relic would give his reign ‘positive power’.

This morning a photo of King Charles at Cambridge in 1967 was released for the first time – in a collection of snaps that reveal the monarch’s joyful years at the prestigeous university.

And yesterday we got a first look at an ornate, three sided screen that will sheild the King as he is annointed.

The ornamental piece will give him more privacy for the solemn moment than any other monarch before him.

Depicting a tree with 56 leaves representing the Commonwealth nations, the hand-sewn design on the front of the screen bears the King’s cypher at the base of the trunk showing the sovereign as a servant of the ‘family of nations’.

Today, there will be celebrations across the country – including a Coronation Celebration Concert in Bridport, Dorset, and a Victorian themed fete at Bourne Hall, south west London, while Kirkgate Shopping Centre in Bradford is holding its own event – complete with stilt-walking Union Jacks.

Charles will be crowned as the UK’s reigning monarch on Saturday, 6 May at Westminster Abbey.

Although she was previously set to be known as Queen Consort, Camilla will also crowned as Queen at the ceremony.

In line with a tradition dating back centuries, King Charles III’s coronation ceremony will be held at Westminster Abbey.

The ceremony will begin at 11am, once the royals have completed their arrival procession from Buckingham Palace. People can line the streets of London to catch a glimpse of the royals, with huge crowds expected given the significance of the event.

The ceremony – which will be broadcast on the BBC – is believed to last about an hour, although exact details on the timings of service and its duration remain unclear. Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 took three hours. 

Following the ceremony, a return procession, following the same route back, will begin.

In the afternoon, 15 members of the royal family will gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the traditional fly-past to pay homage to Charles and Camilla.