Abbey guests forced to wait six hours for toilet break (and some in 1953 couldn’t hold on)
The honour of being invited to the King's coronation will be undone by one uncomfortable truth - there is no toilet in sight for six hours.
Guests invited to Westminster Abbey were given strict instructions to start arriving for the historic event at 7.15am, hours ahead of the 11am ceremony.
The coronation itself will run for two hours, with those attending then having to wait until all the royal family and dignitaries have filed out before they can search for a comfort break.
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According to advice issued to guests, toilet facilities at the abbey are “very limited.” And there was absolutely no movement from 10am.
At the late Queen’s coronation in 1953, the rules were similarly strict for the lengthy ceremony and people were forced to take desperate measures while others simply lost control.
Scaffolding was erected inside the abbey for special guests to watch proceedings. It was this scaffolding that provided the perfect loo stop for those who just couldn’t wait.
Horrified organisers discovered a disturbingly large amount of urine and faeces under the scaffolding when they took it all apart the next day. Those seated in the abbey today will have no such recourse.
Comedian Adam Hills, who hosts Channel 4’s The Last Leg, said he had mapped out his toilet breaks accordingly.
Mr Hills was selected as part of a group of 14 "outstanding Australians" to join Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in representing the country at the coronation. He is joined by musician Nick Cave and footballer Sam Kerr, who currently plays for Chelsea.
"We need to be there at 7.30 in the morning, we’ve been told that where we check in there are toilets, but that is 600 metres from Westminster Abbey and once we’re seated, there’s limited toilet availability”, Mr Hills said.
"I’ve been doing literal dry runs where I’ve tried to take in as little amount of fluid as possible and space out the caffeine consumption and see how long I can go. I made it five hours earlier on, I think I’m looking pretty good for tomorrow," he joked on Friday.
Meanwhile, TV presenters Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly – Ant and Dec - are also attending the service, alongside Dame Emma Thompson, Lord Lloyd-Webber, Dame Judi Dench and Stephen Fry.
Mr McPartlin and Mr Donnelly are both goodwill ambassadors for The Prince’s Trust, a charity founded by King Charles in 1975 to help young people aged 11 to 30 into jobs, education and training.
The duo have hosted the charity’s annual awards 10 times and recently collaborated with the trust on a course to make the media industry more accessible.
US singer Katy Perry, British Vogue’s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, BBC director-general Tim Davie, actress Dame Joanna Lumley and singer Lionel Richie, set to perform at the coronation concert on Sunday evening, are also in attendance.
The service is similarly packed with world leaders, including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Irish president Michael D Higgins, who spoke with King Charles at a reception at Buckingham Palace on Friday.
A watershed moment for both the UK and Ireland, Mr Higgins is the first Irish head of state to attend a coronation.
