London: Buckingham Palace plans a weekend of community events and voluntarism to mark the coronation of King Charles III, looking to highlight the monarchy’s links to the nation when Britain crowns a new sovereign for the first time in 70 years.

The plans were revealed on Saturday when the palace released the schedule for the three-day coronation weekend, which will begin with the crowning of Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, on Saturday, May 6.

The crowning, the royal family’s major set piece event for 2023, has so far this year been overshadowed by the monarch’s son Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir in which he has made accusations against the King and other family members.

The ceremony at Westminster Abbey will be preceded by a procession from Buckingham Palace to the abbey. It will be followed by another procession, in which Charles and Camilla will be joined by other members of the royal family, and an appearance on the palace balcony.

Buckingham Palace did not say which members, amid speculation about whether Harry will be invited, and if he is, whether he will attend, given his recent high-profile and stinging criticism of his family.

But there will be more to the weekend than crowns, sceptres and ermine robes.

The palace wants the coronation to demonstrate that the monarchy still has a role to play in a multicultural nation struggling to deal with a cost-of-living crisis, budget cuts and a wave of strikes by public-sector workers.

While there was widespread respect for Queen Elizabeth II, as demonstrated by the tens of thousands of people who waited hours to file past her coffin after she died in September, there is no guarantee that reverence will transfer to her eldest son.