In London for the Coronation - What Should I Expect?

Well, you can take Westminster Abbey off your touring plans…… It might open again by the 10th, but I think it will depend on how long it takes to pull out seating from the Coronation.

I would think that most hotels, restaurants will be open. For specific tourist sites, I would check with each individually. Unless Coronation Crowds are an exciting prospect for you, I would avoid Westminster Area, Buckingham Palace, Churchill War rooms, etc) at the beginning of your trip and schedule them for the end.

It will be crowded and festive.

The Mall ( the road to the Palace ) will be decorated and people will be arriving to stake out their spot in order to see The King when he and the Royal Family appear on the Palace’s balcony. Who knows how he and Camilla will arrive at the Palace after the Abbey Ceremony? Gilded carriage, limo or ?

The following Monday (May 8) will be a bank holiday.
Banks will be closed but suspect everything else will be open.

As Charles is being crowned King in Westminster Abbey suspect it will be closed to the general public.

Have you booked your accommodation? If not do so now.

https://www.vogue.com/article/king-charles-iii-coronation-everything-we-know-so-far/amp

Don’t change your plans. Go. Once in a lifetime experience.

Allow for the possibility of disruptions on the Underground in the area around Westminster at times when there are large crowds about. If you have a drop-dead schedule to keep (such as a bus or train departure), allow plenty of time and plan one or two back-up routes you could use. You may find you can't access cellular data because of the very high demand in an area where huge number of people have gathered. (I had a problem with T-Mobile after the Queen Elizabeth passed away.)

We will also be in London during that time frame, so I am interested in the responses. We had booked our trip with bargain airline award flights prior to the announcement of the coronation date. We had also booked our hotels. We considered changing our plans, but then decided what the heck. We are just going to roll with it. Figured there would be travel stories to tell, good or bad. :)

London is enormous and you won’t need to go very far to places where you won’t know any of the coronation stuff is happening.

Tubes will be fine except for the area around Westminster/Buckingham Palace, and St. James Park but London seems to always do crowd control well. Honestly, if I was in London, I would plan on trying to watch the Coronation along the route. It really will be something special. If you do this, then you will need to get up really early and secure a spot. Buy some food the day before and pack it in a small backpack. I don't know the route exactly, but nearer the time, you will be able to google it. I stood near No 10 Downing Street on Whitehall for the Queen's Funeral. It was easier than trying to stand in the Mall where you have many people who would have camped overnight. If you do plan on doing this, you will have to walk to a spot by about 5-6 am. The time really goes quite fast and the crowd is very friendly. Portapotties are available and you can leave your spot if you have someone stay there. It is quite something to experience. If you decide not to do this, then the rest of London will be fine to explore but do expect some places to be closed on this day. Enjoy, don't worry, London will look fantastic during this time. It is really a great time to be there.

Mobs of people by all reports.