Newspaper headlines: Nation to chant for Charles, as King vows to serve

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By BBC News
Staff
UK Ministry of Defence

The UK government has evacuated 1,888 people from Sudan with the assistance of the British military

The front pages largely focus on the coronation in six days, and the invitation for "all" of us to swear allegiance to the king.

The Mail on Sunday calls it an "historic break with centuries of tradition, that will turn Charles' big day into the People's Coronation". Previously, the paper says, only members of the aristocracy were called upon to take part in the ritual.

"Pledge allegiance to the King from your sofa," suggests the Sunday Telegraph. The words are above a photo of guardsmen at the Aldershot Garrison, in Hampshire, holding their bearskin caps aloft, as they rehearse three cheers for the King, which will be called at the end of the Coronation procession.

"Nation to join chant for Charles," is the Sunday People's headline. The paper says everyone will be urged to say: "May the King live forever."

The Sunday Express proclaims Charles is a "unifying" king, adding that he will declare at the ceremony in Westminster Abbey: "I come not to be served, but to serve."

According to the Sunday Times, King Charles and Queen Camilla will be crowned in what it calls "the most diverse coronation in history". The paper also carries a picture of the crimson velvet King's Robe of State, which is nearly 15ft long, being prepared by two members of the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace.

The Sunday Mirror turns its attention to the cost of the coronation. It says protesters and VIPs are adding to what it calls the "soaring costs" for security, and the total spend is set to reach £250m, with £150m on security hiking up the bill.

"Harry in a hurry," reads the Sun on Sunday's headline, as the paper reports that Prince Harry is planning a "whistlestop visit" for his father's coronation. The paper adds that he'll be "in and out of the UK in 24 hours", as Harry aims to be back in California for his son, Archie's, fourth birthday; it's on the same day as the coronation.

A number of the papers also report on the plight of Britons trying to escape war-torn Sudan.

Safa Yahya from Nottingham, tells the Mail on Sunday of the "terrifying" 45-minute taxi journey she and her two young children endured, to the evacuation airfield north of Khartoum. "The children were crying. We could hear gunshots," she says. The family got one of the last flights out.

The Sunday Times says "every turn was potential death" on the "dash" to the airbase.

Ahmed - a doctor who's lived and worked in the UK for seven years - talks of "shooting" on the road from Khartoum, and his taxi being stopped "many times". The gunmen were "looking for money" and threatened him, he tells the paper. Like many others, Ahmed didn't reach the airbase by the deadline, the Sunday Times says.

The Observer has been told that Sudanese Armed Forces "intercepted" British nationals en route to the airbase. It says Britons are now feared to have been stranded in Sudan, after a number of people were blocked from reaching the final flight.