Coronation weekend highlights

Hundreds of people joined in the royal celebrations at Norwich Cathedral over the Coronation weekend which included special local services and live-streams from Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle.

The Cathedral’s Nave, decorated with a crown of greenery to reflect His Majesty The King’s love of nature, hosted the live-streams of the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey on Saturday and also the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile the east end of the Cathedral - unique in being the only Cathedral to follow the same plan as Westminster Abbey - became the focus for a special Service of Prayer and Thanksgiving on Sunday morning.

The Dean of Norwich, the Very Revd Dr Andrew Braddock, said: “It was a very special weekend at Norwich Cathedral celebrating the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla and sharing this unique moment in history with many different people. “At the Thanksgiving Service in particular, it was wonderful to welcome representatives of civic life, diverse communities and different faith groups. Together we celebrated the Coronation and what binds us together as local communities committed to supporting and serving one another.”

More than 300 people attended the Service of Prayer and Thanksgiving at which the Bishop of Norwich - who had been one of Queen Camilla’s two Bishop Assistants in the Coronation – preached and Norwich Cathedral Choir sang Handel’s famous anthem Zadok the Priest, which was originally composed for the Coronation of King George II in 1727.

The service was attended by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant, The Lady Dannatt, and Baroness Scott of Bybrook, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith and Communities and Minister in the House of Lords.

There was also beautiful music before and after the service, with the African Choir of Norfolk performing beforehand and a jazz quartet playing afterwards in the Cloister, which was decorated in bunting for the occasion.

Later that afternoon, a Festal Evensong for the Coronation took place, at which the Dean of Norwich preached and the Cathedral Choir sang Parry’s I was glad.

Throughout the weekend, the Cathedral was decorated with unique displays of local greenery, including a crown suspended from the roof of the Nave. All of the displays had been created by the Cathedral’s Flower Guild volunteers in honour of the Coronation and will continue to be on display for the next few days.