PLANS for the King’s Coronation celebrations are taking shape with less than three months to go.

The Coronation of King Charles III will take place on Saturday, May 6 at Westminster Abbey with events taking place across the country to mark the historic occasion.

Dorset is no different with the local authority encouraging residents to gear up in preparation for a bumper bank holiday weekend of community-based events.

The Coronation Big Lunch is a project aimed at bringing neighbours and communities together to share friendship, food, and fun across the weekend of May 6 to May 8. Events will be held on streets across Dorset but residents are reminded of the need to apply for a temporary road closure.

Dorset Council is waiving the costs of road closure applications for the memorable occasion but applications do need to be received six weeks in advance - meaning the deadline of March 31 is fast approaching.

Cllr Val Pothecary, Chairman of Dorset Council, said: “The Coronation of King Charles III is going to be a very special national event, and we want as many people as possible to take part in the celebrations.

“As well as the formal and organised community events that will be taking place, we’re encouraging people to get into the spirit of the occasion and put on their own local events – it could be as simple as inviting your family and friends for a party in the garden, or a larger community event such as a street party for the neighbourhood.”

The official coronation.gov.uk website will feature an interactive map displaying all the events and activities taking place in Dorset: anyone hosting an event is encouraged to add theirs to the site in order to spread the word far and wide.

Town and parish councils will also be organising with many mayors across the county presiding over one of their last duties before handing over the title.

The Coronation of the King and Queen Consort will take place at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Several thousand members of the public will be selected to receive a pair of free tickets through a national ballot held by the BBC.