King Charles meets well-wishers during a walkabout on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace on Friday. AP

The king, his eldest son, Prince William, and daughter-in-law, Kate, stopped for a walkabout to shake hands and speak briefly with the adoring throng.
Charles left the palace gates in his royal car before stopping halfway down the Mall, where fans are camped out ahead of Saturday's ceremony.

Shaking hands with smiling spectators, he was met with cheers of "hip, hip, hooray!" and "God save the King!" along the grand avenue leading to the palace, which will be a central part of a procession route on Saturday.

"There is not much sleeping going on, I hear," William told one woman in the crowd, referring to the people staying in tents who have created a party atmosphere despite heavy downpours. "I pray you guys
stay dry."

Kate, Princess of Wales, greets well-wishers outside Buckingham Palace. Reuters

The royals chatted and with members of the public and posed for selfies. William was accompanied by his wife Kate.

Many of those in the crowd planned to spend Friday night hoping for a prime perch for the procession on Saturday, with a view of the newly crowned monarch and Camilla, his wife, waving from the balcony of the palace after returning from the ceremony.

The stop was made after a luncheon that followed the final rehearsal for the service at Westminster Abbey.

The crowd outside the palace has been growing over the week, with people from many parts of the world assembling to witness the crowning of the latest British monarch in a tradition that dates back more than 1,000 years.

On Thursday, William and Kate took a subway train and visited a pub in Soho as part of the lead-up to the coronation.

Agencies