Melton prepares to celebrate the King's Coronation

On the Saturday, St Mary’s Church will be screening the ceremony from Westminster Abbey with light refreshments available.

Melton In Bloom plan to light up the town with royal-themed plantings, Melton BID is to hang patriotic bunting and shops are set to decorate their windows to mark the historic occasion.

Youngsters will get the chance to join in the fun by making a crown at special sessions at Melton Carnegie Museum.

On the Sunday, St Mary’s will host a service of celebration and representatives of Melton Mowbray Town Estate will be planting a Coronation oak tree at 11.15am.

Tourist events planned include a vintage fair and a heritage trail in King Street on the theme of ‘In the Footsteps of Kings’, to highlight the many monarchs who have visited Melton since the 12th century.

A flypast of military aircraft is also being organised for one of the days.

Meanwhile a bank holiday event celebrating Melton’s historic links to royalty is planned next year with the aim of it becoming an annual tourist attraction.

Royal Melton Weekend is scheduled for August 24 to 26, 2024, based on the remarkable heritage of a succession of monarchs visiting the town since the 12th century.

It’s been organised by the Royal Melton group with a series of activities highlighting Melton’s rich royal history, including plans for a Melton Royal Mile ‘heritage map’ and the installation of blue plaques on prominent buildings along the route.

Organisers also want a trail ‘In the Footsteps of Kings’ to be completed for King Street with a new sign highlighting ‘The King’s Highway 1194’, to mark the date of the first monarch’s visit to the town.

Banners will erected along the route will and there will also be guided walks run by history enthusiast, Jed Jaggard.

Other attractions in the pipeline include a themed event similar to the town’s ‘40s weekend but representing different periods of history and a street market.

Coordinator or the Melton Royal group Matthew O’Callaghan said: “The events this year will be fairly modest to celebrate the King’s Coronation and also to lead to next year’s larger scale activities.

"The Royal Melton Weekend for the late August Bank Holiday we hope will be a major tourism event celebrating Melton’s Royal links when 11 medieval kings travelled and stayed over in Melton from 1194 onwards when the King’s Highway from London to the North passed through the town for a period of some 350 years.

"It also commemorates the later period when from George III onwards every reigning monarch, except King George V, have visited Melton.

"We have a unique royal association and this will be celebrated annually during this extended bank holiday.”

Click HERE to find out more about the plans drawn up the Royal Melton group to celebrate the town’s historic links with Kings and Queens going back to the 12th century.