Wait is almost over

ACCLAIM FOR THE NEW KING

Coronation hopes, dreams and mysteries will all be resolved over the next few days as the British get to swear allegiance to the first newly crowned monarch in 70-odd years.

The?centre of London?and many other parts of the country are en fete. Union flags are everywhere. I've even seen a mock-up of King Charles III as Elvis Presley.

Our reporters have scoured the royal's past, looked into his fortune and taken pains to examine the regalia used in the ceremony itself.

I think it's good to think of the coronation as a kind of wedding to the nation. It is highly planned and involves thousands of people, yet?the most significant moment remains hidden from view.

One of the great features of King Charles III's life is his affinity with the armed forces. Former head of the military Lord Richards, who has a role in Saturday's ceremony, talks to us about the many moments he has?seen the king up close and bonding with the troops.

We also delve into the man behind the regal riches and parade of palaces. It turns out he is really a rather?frugal character, who may buy?very expensive suits?but is likely to be still wearing them decades later.

But as I proposed in my column, he really does need to?cull the empty central London royal residences?and I didn't even touch on the number of country estates at the family's disposal.

Look out for our full coronation day and weekend coverage of this special event?here.

The coronation may be all about the newly crowned king but the day would be?nothing?without the people.

As?one American tourist at the gates of Buckingham Palace?told our producer Amy McConaghy, the scale of the spectacle, which only happens once in decades, makes the US presidential inauguration every four years a pale shadow.

There will always be those who say the?expense?is just too much and those who remind us how the empire may be gone, but it has shaped much of the?royal story and that of the UK?itself.

BERLIN MEETING PAVES THE WAY FOR COP28

Over the past few days the focus of climate diplomacy has been in Berlin at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue.

The effort to create a positive consensus in the run-up to the Cop28 meeting in the UAE starting on November 30 is already well in train.

I listened as prominent players in the process praised how the?listening tour by the Cop28?team was playing a big role in building trust ahead of the meeting.

The challenge set down by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, the Cop28 President-designate and UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, is for a Cop of action and for all.

This means ideas are being brought to the table in these crucial weeks.

As Pakistan's climate delegate Sherry Rehman told me in the chandeliered main hall of the German Foreign Ministry, there is a need to recognise the demands of countries that have suffered devastating floods.

She would like a real path to climate financing. As Pakistan rebuilds, she wants adaptation to climate change as the “Cinderella slot” of the talks, equal to the funds available for the mitigation of emissions.

We also heard from Mia Mottley, the Barbados Prime Minister, who has been such a trailblazer on the issue of finance and development. The second day of the dialogue is just getting under way so look out for more coverage.

HELPING CHILDREN WITH GENE THERAPY

The coming Cop28 will be the first of a whole series of summits to devote a day to health. The international stakes in health care have never been greater.

This is a topic that I want to devote a lot of resources to covering in the coming weeks because the shared stories on treatments and systems are important to us all.

That's why I was so delighted that we were granted exclusive access to the Zayed Centre for Research into?Rare Disease in Children?at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Rare diseases that are so threatening to lives that the sufferers rarely live beyond five are the focus of this specialised centre.

It has expanded rapidly and in our story we look at what a regulatory approval milestone is likely to mean for its work.?Watch the scientists in action?as they develop new gene therapy products.

In one recent trial, 96 per cent of those treated were essentially cured with a one-off gene therapy.