Behind the scenes exclusive: The coronation flypast that almost did not happen
This is the inside story of the coronation flypast over the skies of London that almost did not happen.
Forces News joined crews at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, home of the Chinook force, where at 10am on Saturday, 6 May, the weather was not looking good.
Sixty-eight aircraft from all three services of the Armed Forces were due to fly over Buckingham Palace to celebrate King Charles III's coronation, but most were grounded, including the fast jets and the full Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, for safety reasons.
The cloud base is the deciding factor, as the Chinooks can only fly over London at a certain height "and if that cloud base forces us down below that height then the chances are, for safety reasons, they will cancel the flypast", explained Master Aircrew Bob Ruffles from 27 Squadron, RAF Odiham.
So while history unfolded and Charles was crowned, crews continued to wait, hoping for the weather to improve.
The flypast remained unconfirmed but it was time for take-off, with the three Chinook travelling to RAF Benson to join other helicopters hoping to take part.
Finally, there was the green light and the crews were on their way to see the King.
Speaking to Forces News, Flight Lieutenant Simon Flynn from 27 Squadron, said: "I woke up this morning, looked at the weather and my money was on it not happening.
"But fortunately there was a clearance in the weather through London... and we had the cloud base and visibility that we needed."
Flypasts are technically tricky and this one required Heathrow Airport, where flights land as often as every 45 seconds, to close for 20 minutes to allow the military aircraft to fly through central London.
Flt Lt Flynn described the logistics as "a conveyor belt in the sky or an airborne motorway which is constantly running".
"With a flypast like this, we were planning for 60-odd aircraft, they all need to be on that imaginary motorway at the same time.
"So they need to join at the right time and exactly the right speed, so they are over Buckingham Palace at the point they need to be.
"There's an enormous amount of coordination to get us flying through central London."
As the new King and Queen looked to the skies, there was the flypast, on time and keen to give the crowds the boost they were hoping for.
But because the weather had cut the number of participants, the display lasted for two minutes and 30 seconds rather than the planned six minutes.
At least 10 helicopters took part in the flypast alongside a Red Arrows squad of nine Hawk jets.
Flight Lieutenant Kerry Rapson, a media and communications officer at RAF Odiham was onboard, and described the flight as something she will never forget.
"It's the birdseye view that nobody else watching that ceremony has got," she said.
"It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
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