A coronation washout is forecast for many this weekend with rain and drizzle likely to provide a quintessentially British backdrop to the royal pomp and pageantry.
Saturday, the day of the formal ceremony, is forecast by the Met Office to be a cloudy and wet day for many, including in the capital around midday, just as King Charles III is being crowned.
Showers are likely to develop in central, eastern and northern areas, as well as across Northern Ireland, but not expected to be as intense or as heavy as those on Friday.
The Met Office’s deputy chief forecaster, Steven Keates, said: “A further area of rain is expected to move into south-west England early on Saturday, moving east and north through the day with some heavy bursts at times.
“This is likely to bring some rain to London by around lunchtime. Further north, in Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland, it will be a day of sunshine and showers before the more persistent rain moves northwards overnight. It will feel humid, especially in the south, with highs of 17C (63F) possible in London.”
On Sunday – when the nation is invited to take part in the “big lunch” and many will be hosting street parties – there is likely to be areas of rain and drizzle at first with risk of heavy, possibly thundery showers across parts of central, eastern and southern England. Parts of north-east England and eastern Scotland are forecast to be fairly grey and wet.
Western parts of the UK, Northern Ireland, Wales, western Scotland and south-west England are expected to experience the driest and brightest weather, and Windsor, where the coronation concert featuring the likes of Katy Perry and Lionel Richie is being staged, looks set for a dry, cloudy day.
Looking further ahead to the bank holiday on Monday, when people are encouraged to volunteer as part of the Big Help Out, the Met Office said eastern areas would start out mostly dry but a band of rain in the west was expected sweep eastwards throughout the day, bringing rain to many places.
This rain will be followed by sunshine and scattered showers. Winds are expected to be fresh to strong with temperatures near average.