King Charles Rings in Coronation Weekend With Buckingham Palace Reception

King Charles and Queen Camilla will be crowned on Saturday at Westminster Abbey

Royals from around the world are celebrating King Charles' historic coronation!

On Friday evening, the King stepped out for a special reception for overseas guests at Buckingham Palace to mark the coronation weekend. King Charles and Queen Camilla will be crowned on Saturday in a glittering ceremony at Westminster Abbey before 2,200 guests.

King Charles, 74, mingled with members of foreign royal families who traveled to the U.K. for the crowning ceremony.

Attendees of the reception included Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain, King Jigme Kesar and Queen Jetsun of Bhutan, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, former queen Princess Beatrix and future queen Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, King Philippe and his heir Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, King Carl XVI Gustaf and his heir Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Queen Suthida and King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand and more.

Several foreign monarchs will be at the coronation, marking a change in past guest lists. Monarchs from other countries typically did not attend a British king or queen's crowning ceremony — instead, they would send heirs, consorts or other family members to represent them.

Related:Who's Attending King Charles' Coronation? The Complete Guest List (So Far)

Prince William and Kate Middleton also attended Friday's reception. The Prince of Wales, 41, will play a poignant role in Saturday's church service by paying homage to his father the King, a visible position for the heir to the throne. Prince William and Princess Kate's eldest son Prince George, 9, who is second in the line of succession, will also step into the spotlight as a Page of Honor alongside Queen Camilla's three grandsons.

King Charles' crowning ceremony will be more modest than his mother Queen Elizabeth's coronation service in 1953, 70 years ago. An estimated 2,200 guests will pour into Westminster Abbey's pews on May 6, while 8,251 people attended Queen Elizabeth's ceremony.

The congregation at Westminster Abbey will also be made up of hundreds of community and charity representatives.

Though Charles became King immediately upon the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth in September, his symbolic crowning formalizes his royal role.

"Charles became King Charles the moment his mother died, but the coronation is to do with the job and being the monarch in the eyes of all the people," royal historian Robert Lacey previously told PEOPLE.

After the coronation at Westminster Abbey, the King and Queen will ride back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach, taking horse-drawn transport for a processional parade of 1.3 miles. The royal couple will then come out the palace balcony, momentous as their first appearance there of the new reign.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will continue celebrating Sunday at the Coronation Concert, broadcast live from Windsor Castle, with other members of the royal family. Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, Andrea Bocelli and more will ignite the night with powerful performances, as iconic landmarks are illuminated across the U.K.

The luminary tribute will honor tradition, as Queen Elizabeth flicked on the "lights of London" after appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony on her own coronation day in 1953.

Related:King Charles' Coronation: All Your Burning Questions About the Crowning Ceremony Answered

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Monday, May 8, was also announced as a bank holiday by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. U.K. citizens are invited to participate in the Big Help Out, a volunteering initiative.

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