Warning of coronation travel chaos as traffic wardens to strike near procession route

PARKING wardens in Westminster are set to strike on coronation day, sparking fears of chaos in the city.

The GMB Union today confirmed industrial action will go ahead on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday next week.

On Saturday the coronation procession will see King Charles travel from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach.

Now, wardens won’t on hand to ensure people don’t park in the wrong place and risk disrupting the route and flow of human traffic.

Parking officers are locked in a dispute with Westminster Council’s contractor NSL over pay.

They want a hike in line with inflation – but this has been rejected.

Alex Etches, GMB Organiser said: “There is no reason why our members, who do a difficult and dangerous job should be poorer this year than the last.

“Our members’ strike action will lead to chaos on the roads of Westminster during the coronation.

“NSL must get serious about giving our members an offer that doesn’t leave them worse off this year or they will be to blame for the disruption on the day of the coronation.”

Prince Louis, 4, will star in the coronation process with elder siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince George, according to The Times.

But Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Prince Andrew won’t participate in the ride.

The Prince of Wales’s children are expected to join their parents in a carriage behind Charles and Camilla, who will be in the Diamond Jubilee Coach.

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will not be in the procession either according to the rehearsal plans as it is confined to working members of the royal family.

Apart from the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, the only other royals in the procession out of the abbey will be the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Duke of Kent and his sister Princess Alexandra.

he King’s Procession will travel along the Royal Route to the Westminster Abbey along streets lined by members of the armed forces and thousands upon thousands of cheering spectators.

The King’s coronation procession will take a shorter, but as yet undisclosed, route back to the palace compared to the 1953 procession.

One source familiar with the make-up of the procession estimated that it would involve about 4,000 military personnel.