Abingdon Bun Throwing - Coronation of King Charles III

A report from King Charles III's royal bun throwing event in Abingdon.

There was more than one bun at the BUN THROW

To mark the royal occasion of the Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort my home town of Abingdon-on-Thames held a bun throwing event in the Market Place on Sunday 7th May.

The people want buns! What a crowd at the bun throwing in Abingdon. This photo location was near 'Stroll In'

Abingdon holds bun throwing events to mark, mostly, special royal occasions.

Only buns and people were allowed in Abingdon between 4pm and 7pm

The events see local dignitaries ascend the steps of the old County Hall where they launch currant buns to the hoi polloi below.

I was lucky enough to see the arrival of the buns on the morning of the event!

The event began as a bread dole and evolved into a rooftop throwing event and its current incarnation. On this occasion a total of 5,000 buns were thrown to the crowd in the market place.

One bun and done

The bun throw for the Coronation of King Charles III was the 37th bun throwing in Abingdon since 1761. It was the 17th bun throwing held in my lifetime - I've attended all of them since 1981.

The calm before the storm

This time we mixed things up a bit and positioned ourselves in front of St Nicolas Church rather than our more usual position in the thick of the action in the middle of the market place.

The scene a few hours later as the buns rained down

My brother Jon was in the centre and manged to catch three buns.

I had one - scrambled off the ground.

My mum and dad were even further back than us and still managed to net a bun - possibly the furthest one flung on our side of the crowd.

Christopher managed to snag one too.

Emily came close to catching some.

One bun that had no takers after the event

We were discussing when the next bun throwing will take place, and what the occasion will be. I guess we'll have to wait and see what the future holds...

Here's the full list of Abingdon Bun Throwing events between 1761-2023:

1761 Coronation of King George III

1810 Golden Jubilee of King George III

1821 Coronation of King George IV

1831 Coronation of King William IV

1837 Coronation of Queen Victoria

1856 Declaration of Peace at the end of the Crimean War

1863 Marriage of the Prince of Wales to Princess Alexandra

1887 Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria

1897 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria

1902 Coronation of King Edward VII

1911 Coronation of King George V

1935 Silver Jubilee of King George V

1937 Coronation of King George VI

1946 VE Day

1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

1956 Visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Abingdon

1966 Abingdon International Week

1974 End of the Borough of Abingdon

1977 Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II

1980 The Queen Mother’s 80th Birthday

1981 Marriage of the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer

1986 Marriage of the Duke of York to Sarah Ferguson

1987 40th Wedding Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II

1990 The Queen Mother’s 90th Birthday

1995 50th Anniversary of VE Day

1997 50th Wedding Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II

2000 Millennium

2000 The Queen Mother’s 100th Birthday

2002 Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II

2006 450th Anniversary of Abingdon Charter/Queen Elizabeth II’s Official Birthday

2006 450th Anniversary of Abingdon Charter/Visit by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal

2011 Marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton

2012 The Queen's Diamond Jubilee

2016 The Queen's 90th Birthday

2018 100 year anniversary of the Armistice

2022 The Queen's Platinum Jubilee

2023 Coronation of His Majesty The King, Charles III, and Her Majesty The Queen Consort

Abingdon County Hall Museum kindly provided details of the Recorded Bun Throwings to 1997.

There have also been three unofficial Bun Throwing events in the town:

2012 World Bun Throwing Championships to find the town's best bun thrower

2014 Bun Throwing at Abingdon Fire Station to celebrate its 50th anniversary

2016 World Bun Throwing Championships to find the town's best bun thrower

Take a look at this post on the excellent Abingdon Blog for more photos and action from the event.