21-gun salute in York's Museum Gardens marks King's Coronation

But the hundreds of people who gathered in Museum Gardens this lunchtime felt that in a way they had had their very own ringside seat at the Cotonation of King Charles III.

At 12 noon precisely – the very moment when Charles was crowned King in London – a 21-gun salute was fired in the gardens.

The booms reverberated around the grounds and echoed off the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey.

For the hundreds of people who had gathered in the Gardens for the event – sitting on the steps of the Yorkshire Museum and crowded along the edges of roped-off areas of the Gardens themselves – it was a very special moment.

The 21-gun salute in Museum Gardens rang out at the very moment King Charles was crowned in Westminster Abbey (Image: PA)

Stacey Barrow, from York, had brought her children to witness the historic moment, and had a ‘ringside’ seat perched on the wall beliow the Yorkshire Museum.

“It was wonderful!” she told The Press as the echoes of the salute died away and the gunsmoke drifted across the ruins of St Mary’s.

“I loved the ceremony of it. I loved the silence while everyone was waiting for the salute. I loved the atmosphere."

She added: “I loved the Queen, and I think Charles is going to be a really great King. I love what they embody, for England and for us.”

Stacey Barrow, David Lloyd-Dudley and Laura Harling in Museum Gardens for the Salute (Image: Stephen Lewis)

“It makes you proud to be British!” added 78-year-old David Lloyd-Dudley, also from York.

“Nobody elsde can do it like this. It was absolutely brilliant.”

Mr Lloyd-Dudley said he would rather be taking part in an event to celebrate the Coronation than just sitting watching it at home.

And he added that afterwards he’d be having a pint to celebrate. “I’ll drink to the King’s health!” he said.

Laura Harling, from Walifiornia, was in York on holiday with her husband – 50 years exactly after they had come here on their honeymoon half a century ago.

They hadn’t realised, when they arranged to come, that their visit would coincide with the King’s Coronation.

“But we’re looking forward to it!” she said, speaking just before the salute.

“We’re so happy to be in York. It’s such a lovely city!”

Earlier, a military band had played in St Helen’s Square, before marching to Museum Gardens to entertain the waiting crowd as the hour for the salute drew nearer.

The Lord Mayor of York David Carr arrived to witness the ceremony just before 12 noon, and the the large crowd then stood in respectful, expectant silence.

A white cloth was then dropped to signal the moment that the King was crowned, and the first shot of the salute was fired by members of the 4th Regiment Royal Artillery.

Three guns were used, their barrels angled towards the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey.

There was a slight hitch when, part way through the salute, one of the three guns stopped working.

But this was the British Army. Unfazed, rounds from the defective gun were carried to the other two guns – and the 21-gun salute was completed with barely a break.