Coronation 2023 Party Ideas
Image Credit: eParenting
2023 is the year that we are celebrating the Coronation of King Charles III.
The new King will be crowned on 6th May 2023 in Westminster Abbey, London, England. In the UK the following Monday 8th May will be an extra bank holiday, allowing us to celebrate even more!
The UK has a programme of celebrations planned, with the coronation itself being televised around the world with events such as street parties held on the day of the Coronation in May and with many people holding private parties at home.
If you are planning to have your own Coronation celebration, here are DIY party decorations and recipes for a Coronation themed party.
Whether you are celebrating the Coronation or just love all things British, these ideas will bring a red, white and blue, Union Jack and all round royal theme to your party!
Here are some cool ideas for making your Coronation party go with a swing, with DIY ideas for party supplies and decorations and the all important food.
Coronation Party DIY Decoration Ideas
What will be your colour scheme for a coronation party? You could choose red, white and blue to reflect the Union Jack or something to reflect the various traditional robes that the new monarch, King Charles III will wear, in gold or a regal purple.
- Wool Wrap Union Jack Flag
- Union Jack Printable Bunting
- Union Jack Inspired Felt Ornaments
- A Union Jack Cushion
- Union Jack Flag Mason Jar
- A Golden Crown
- Beaded Union Jack Earrings
- Fish & Chips
- Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding
- Shepherd's Pie
- Cucumber Sandwiches
- Strawberries and Cream
- Eton Mess
- Trifle
- A Cream Tea
- Kirstie Allsopp’s Union Jack Cake
- Official Coronation Recipes
Have a go at these clever wool wrapped Union Jacks using red, white and blue yarn and a piece of card.
Make your own bunting with a Union Jack with this free printable from Red Ted Art. Print it out either in colour or black and white to colour in yourself.
I love these beautiful Union Jack decorations from Celebrating Everyday Life. Make lots and hang them as a garland and you might also be able to use them as a nice patriotic Christmas tree ornament too.
Plus you could also make them into a funky brooch by adding a pin at the back too.
This cushion, made with applied strips (no complicated patchwork to attemp!) is quick and easy to make. The full instructions are at Chapman Place Blog.
Love this fab Union Jack Mason jar, which would be a fantastic craft to make for your British-themed party and perfect as the centrepiece of your party table.
You can even recycle any empty glass jar and make a whole collection. Acrylic or glass paints work best for this type of project.
What to wear to a coronation party? A crown of course!
Make your own crown with these instructions, where you can find printables to make the crown shape and the beautiful jewels to decorate it with.
These fab Union Jack earrings from Nbeads are seriously cool. They will be a little fiddler so suitable for older kids or adults, but they look so impressive.
You could also adapt them to make decorations.
Coronation Party Food Ideas
Here are some great British food ideas and recipes for your coronation party food.
Fish and chips is one of Britain's national dishes so it is a brilliant idea for a meal to celebrate a royal occasion like the coronation.
You could get it as a takeaway from your local chippy, or make your own with this recipe for beer battered fish and chips from Foodness Gracious.
For a more formal meal, the British are known around the world for their love of roast beef, which should be eaten with Yorkshire pudding.
The meal should be accompanied by roast potatoes, vegetables and of course lashings of gravy! The vegetables should be whatever grows in the UK and is seasonal, such as carrots, peas or parsnips. This recipe from BBC Food explains exactly how it is done.
For a cosy, comfort food supper, Shepherd's Pie is another perfect British food. Minced lamb and vegetables topped with creamy mashed potato and cooked in the oven. Yum.
This easy Shepherds Pie recipe is from Anthony Worrell Thompson.
Cucumber sandwiches are quintessentially British, and if you are having a buffet-style meal as part of your coronation celebrations. Here is an extensive article on how to make the perfect cucumber sandwich from the Guardian.
TLDR; Peel the cucumber and cut as thinly as possible.
Nothing says British more than a dessert like strawberries and cream! This upgraded recipe is by English chef and food campaigner Jamie Oliver, but you can just pour rich double cream over fresh strawberries for a delicious and easy dessert.
If food presentation is not your strong point, this is the perfect dessert to serve at your Coronation celebration party. It is basically a mess of broken meringue, cream and fresh strawberries. You can throw it together using ready-made ingredients from your supermarket or make everything from scratch if you want.
Here is an article on how to make an Eton Mess with some alternative suggestions for the fruit that you can use.
The dish was originated at Eton College, the school that produced so many of the UK's Prime Ministers including Boris Johnson and David Cameron, and where King Charles chose to send his sons William and Harry.
The trifle is a dish that originated in England and then became popular all around the world. It is so popular that the official Pudding of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee was a trifle.
A trifle consists of layers of sponge cake, jelly, custard and cream, with additions such as fruit and nuts. Generally you can add in whatever proportions you like.
You can make a classic trifle from this Easy Trifle Recipe. Traditionally the sponge will be soaked in sherry, but this recipe allows you to leave out the alcohol if you prefer. In general you can substitute fruit juice to make an alcohol-free version of any trifle recipe
If you are nut-free, use the more traditional hundreds-and-thousands sprinkles.
This traditional British treat is slightly confusingly named. A "cream tea" is actually the tern for a cup of tea and a scone served with jam and thick cream. (We Brits like to keep people on their toes.)
People will argue long and hard as to whether the jam or the cream should be put on the scone first or second. I think it tastes delicious whichever way you choose.
The dish originates in the south west of England, in Devon and Cornwall. Here is an explaination how to how to make an English Cream Tea.
This tasty cake is from a recipe by Kirsty Allsopp. It is a classic take on the traditionally British victoria sponge cake, which is taken to the next level with a beautiful union jack design made with strawberries and .
Strawberries officially come into season on 1st May in the UK, just in time for those coronation parties, and you can choose any dark berry to represent the blue part of the flag. You can find this recipe at Good To Know.
Three official Coronation recipes have been announced for the Coronation of Prince Charles III, representing the diversity of the UK.
Nadia Hussain's Coronation Aubergine is a vegetarian option, Ken Hom's Coronation Roast Rack Of Lamb is an Asian twist on a British classic and Adam Handling's Strawberry and Ginger Trifle is the perfect dessert to finish your celebration meal with.
Coronation Party Games Ideas
Here are a couple of fun games to keep everyone entertained during your coronation themed party.
- British Bulldog
- Pin The Crown On The King
This is a traditional playground game which is perfect for working off all those cakes and party food that you will eat at your coronation party.
Two or more "Bulldogs" are chosen, and the rest of the players go to one end of the play area. They all have to run from one end of the space to another while avoiding being tagged by one of the Bulldogs. Anyone who is caught is the Bulldog in the next round. The last untagged player is the winner.
This is one game that you can make for yourself. Get a large picture or poster of King Charles, where he is not wearing a acrow. You can buy pictures and posters of the King all over the place, or you should be able to find them easily in newspapers and magazines in the months leading up to the coronation.
Next find a picture of a crown in a similar size to the King's head. Draw your own or print one off. Finally you will need a blindfold, and play as you would for pin the tail on the Donkey.
Free Printables For Your Coronation Party
Here are some fun printables to go with your Coronation party, whether you are celebrating the King's Coronation or having a British themed party at any time.
Colour in this fabulous Union Jack Colouring Picture Template and hang the flag of the United Kingdom on your wall!
This Coronation Printable Wordsearch includes words relating to the coronation of the British monarch.
This free printable Coronation Colouring Picture will be a lovely momento the the Coronation celebrations in May 2023.
Can you find the royals including Kings, Queens, Princes, Princesses and Dukes along with all the other members of the royal family in this free printable Royal Wordsearch?
Make your own bunting decoration with this Blank Bunting Template Printable PDF. You could draw King Charles, crowns, Union Jacks, the flags of England, Scotland Northern Ireland and Wales, or anything that you like.
For more Coronation craft ideas here are 17 Coronation Craft Activities For Kids so you can make crowns, regalia and more cool British-themed stuff.