This Week in London – Coronation outfits at Buckingham Palace; Rex the Raven; and, a Crystal Palace dinosaur recreated…

Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023

The coronation outfits worn by King Charles III and Queen Camilla can be seen at Buckingham Palace from Friday as part of the summer opening of the State Rooms. The clothing includes the Robe of Estate worn by the King for his departure from Westminster Abbey (it had been worn by his grandfather King George VI for his coronation in 1937), the King’s cream silk overshirt and the Purple Coronation Tunic – both specially created for the occasion – and the King’s Royal Naval Trousers as well as Queen Camilla’s Bruce Oldfield-designed Coronation Dress and her Robe of Estate. Also on display will be the Coronation Glove and the Girdle or Coronation Sword Belt – both of which were first worn by King George VI at his coronation. Visitors to the State Rooms will also be able to see the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, and by combining their trip with a visit to the Royal Mews, the Gold State Coach, used in every coronation procession since King William IV in 1831. The State Rooms are open until 24th September. Admission charges apply. For more, including an accompanying programme of events, see www.rct.uk.

A new raven chick, Rex, has joined the flock at the Tower of London. Rex, who is joining the six other ravens at the Tower, is named for the Latin title meaning “King, Ruler” – appropriate for a Tower raven born in the year of HM King Charles III’s Coronation. The term is referenced on King Charles III’s cypher that appears on the uniforms of Yeoman Warders, and above the entrance to the Jewel House. The cypher displays the intertwining initials “C” and “R”, representing “Charles” and “Rex”, an update from Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s cypher “E R” “(Elizabeth Regina).

PICTURE: James Balston

• A recreation of a Victorian-era sculpture of an extinct mammal distantly related to horses, has been placed at the Grade I-listed Crystal Palace dinosaurs site. The 2.2 metre-long sculpture of Palaeotherium magnum is the work of one of Britain’s leading palaeo artist, Bob Nicholls, under the supervision of the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, scientists from the Natural History Museum and the University of Portsmouth. It has been funded by the new Crystal Palace Park Trust and Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs.

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LondonLife – Welcome to Zoorassic Park…

ZSL London Zoo opened the gates to its new Zoorassic Park last weekend enabling families to step back in time to the Mesozoic era and experience life with the dinosaurs. Featuring life-size, moving dinosaurs ranging from a tyrannosaurus rex (above) to a triceratops (below), the exhibit, will provide insight into the lives of the extinct giants as well as the important work conservationists are doing now to help save today’s animals from the same fate Included in the price of entry into the zoo, the exhibit is only open until 3rd September. For more, see www.zsl.org. PICTURES: ZSL London Zoo.