GOLD STANDARD: A HAPPY AND GLORIOUS SPECTACLE

THE KING AND QUEEN RETURN TO THE PALACE IN THE BIGGEST MILITARY CEREMONIAL OPERATION LONDON HAS SEEN IN 70 YEARS

- JEN PHARO & MICHELLE GARNETT

All the stops were pulled out for the grand ceremonial carriage ride back to Buckingham Palace.

At 1.03pm, King Charles III triumphantly emerged from the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey ahead of the Coronation Procession wearing the Imperial State Crown. Exiting the Abbey as the 40th monarch to have been crowned there, His Majesty was followed by his four pages, including his eldest grandson Prince George, who will one day ascend the throne himself. He was joined in the carriage by the newly enthroned Queen Camilla, still wearing the Queen Mary Crown. The King was composed, but the emotion and responsibility of the grand occasion was clearly etched on this face as he waved to his subjects.

The magnificent sight of the Gold State Coach conveying the King and Queen on the 1.42-mile journey was everything one could wish for from the occasion - despite the grey skies and driving rain. A fixture at coronations since 1831, the 4-tonne gilded carriage is so heavy it needs to be drawn by eight horses. The graceful Windsor Greys - named Icon and Shadow; Milford Haven and Newark; Echo and Knightsbridge; Meg and Tyrone - travelled at a slow, steady pace allowing the cheering crowds to glimpse the King and Queen.

The Princess Royal also caused quite a stir as she rode a horse called Falkland, delighting umbrella-toting spectators jostling for a view en route. Anne, a former Olympic equestrian, had been honoured with the prominent role of the Gold-Stick-in-Waiting. Her task was to follow directly behind the Gold State Coach, a position that carried great significance having been historically bestowed on the person most trusted with looking after the monarch's safety. Many agreed that it's a credit to Anne's unswerving loyalty to her brother, and indeed their mother, over the years.