In Pictures: How Britons have been preparing for the King’s coronation

The eyes of the world will be on Westminster Abbey on Saturday as the King and Queen Consort take part in their much-anticipated coronation ceremony, and Britons from all walks of life have been making their own preparations.

From official dress rehearsals by the armed forces to a sand sculpture and an unusual toast to Charles, we look at the best of the images from the past few weeks.

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Six of the eight Windsor Grey horses which will pull the Gold State Coach take part in a coronation rehearsal in Hyde Park (Yui Mok/PA)
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The Royal Mint unveils new commemorative 50p and £5 coins (Ben Birchall/PA)
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Celebrity TV chef Ainsley Harriott joins Coronation Big Lunch organisers in East Sheen, south-west London (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
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The Duke of Edinburgh watches as Coronation Big Lunch ambassador Dame Prue Leith takes a sniff of the official coronation quiche (James Manning/PA)
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Sand artist Claire Eason puts the finishing touches to a 90ft by 65ft sculpture of Charles on Bamburgh beach in Northumberland (Owen Humphreys/PA)
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Chocolatier Jennifer Lindsey-Clarke creates a bust of the King (Matt Alexander/PA)
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Beefeaters model their new uniform with Charles’s cipher for the coronation at the Tower of London (Yui Mok/PA)
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Seating being erected on The Mall (Victoria Jones/PA)
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A service to mark the arrival of the Stone of Destiny at Westminster Abbey (Susannah Ireland/PA)
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Daniel Anderson from the Legoland Windsor Resort places a Lego model of Charles on the balcony of the miniature Buckingham Palace (Andrew Matthews/PA)
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Commonwealth flag carriers during a rehearsal at RAF Odiham in Hampshire (Andrew Matthews/PA)
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Post boxes in Westminster are decorated to mark the coronation (Yui Mok/PA)
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A night-time rehearsal in central London on Wednesday evening (James Manning/PA)
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Nathan Wyburn with his portrait of the King using Marmite and 42 slices of toasted bread (PA)
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Royal fans camp out to reserve their places on The Mall (James Manning/PA)
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Royal fan Bartley Graham, from County Durham, arrived at The Mall on Wednesday after discharging himself from hospital (Nick Warren/PA)