King Charles to tell commuters to ‘mind the gap’ in special Tube announcement for coronation
KING Charles III has made a special announcement to people on the Tube – telling them to ‘mind the gap’ across the bank holiday weekend.
The new Monarch and Queen Consort Camilla have recorded a short message to kick off the coronation celebrations.
It has been made for the rail industry and Transport for London, and will be played at 2,570 railway stations across the UK from Friday to Monday, May 8.
In the announcement King Charles III says: “My wife and I wish you and your families a wonderful coronation Weekend.”
Queen Consort Camilla replies: “Wherever you are travelling, we hope you have a safe and pleasant journey.”
“And remember, please mind the gap,” the Monarch adds.
Jacqueline Starr, Chief Executive Officer at Rail Delivery Group, said: “The coronation is a rare and exciting event and we very much look forward to welcoming passengers with this special message.
“It’s wonderful that Their Majesties are including rail passengers as part of this historic moment.”
Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said: “Our station colleagues are pulling out all the stops to welcome people to London for the coronation and it’s fantastic that they will also be welcomed by King Charles III and Queen Camilla.”
Andy Lord, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “With less than one day to go before the coronation, we look forward to hosting Londoners and visitors from across the globe.
“We are honoured to support the celebrations with a special station announcement across our network from Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla.”
CORONATION TRAVEL ADVICE
Andy Lord also said today: “Public transport remains the best way to travel in London during the coronation weekend and is at the heart of making this historic occasion a success, just like it did when London saw the 1953 coronation of Elizabeth II.
“With no planned engineering closures, I hope people make the most of the public transport options to enjoy the bank holiday.”
This comes as the worst times to travel during the Coronation Bank Holiday weekend have been revealed.
Thousands of motorists have already taken to the roads before King Charles’ coronation tomorrow with traffic building throughout the morning.
Friday afternoon will see the worst of the traffic according to the RAC.
And the motor services company said there will also be “added congestion” during the rest of the long weekend.
The RAC said: “Travel times will likely peak on Friday afternoon with some areas seeing double the travel times as holiday travellers mix with commuters, but drivers should be prepared for added congestion throughout the holiday weekend.”
Those travelling after 8pm today will likely have the best shot at avoiding gridlock.
The RAC added that 10am to 8pm tomorrow would see heavy traffic on motorways including the M5 and M25.
While Sunday’s traffic predictions thankfully look a lot clearer for those taking to the roads.