GEOFF BENNETT: Eight months after succeeding his mother, Queen Elizabeth, as Britain's head of state, King Charles will formerly be crowned at Westminster Abbey tomorrow in a lavish celebration.

This coronation will be historic.

It's unlikely anything as grand will be staged again, as Britain's royal family slims down and adapts to the modern era.

As special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports, there's a generational split in England over support for the monarchy.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Paying homage in their own particular way, King Charles III's most loyal subjects pitched up days ago to grab prime positions along the procession route.

Fashioning a portrait of Britain's head of state is a former actor Ray Polhill, an avowed monarchist.

RAY POLHILL, Former Actor: We need them.

And we need them more now than ever.

With an ever-changing world of, I don't know, paranoia and blame and everything else, we need someone to help us get through what we're going through.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Chris Imafidon is an ardent supporter, not least because of Charles' leadership of The Prince's Trust nonprofit helping vulnerable young people to get their lives on track.

CHRIS IMAFIDON, King Charles Supporter: He cares for the youths and the -- for the next generation, ready to connect with Gen Z, uses Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.

I mean, he's a 74-year-old man.

He should forget about technology, but he incorporates that.

He cares about the environment.

So he has a heart.

And that's somebody we have as a new king.

And that's why I'm excited to see.

He -- I pray that he doesn't change.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Nurse Hilary Greenhalgh has been pitching her tent here at every major royal event for more than three decades.

HILARY GREENHALGH, United Kingdom: It is living history, isn't it?

I mean, in years to come, people will be talking about the coronation of King Charles III.

And I can say, well, I was there.

MAN: Three cheers for the king.

Hip hip hooray.

Hip hip hooray.

God save the king.

MALCOLM BRABANT: And today, the royalists' patience was rewarded as King Charles left Buckingham Palace for a brief walkabout.

Recent opinion polls suggest that King Charles cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to support.

There is a significant generational divide in the country.

Whereas three-quarters of all seniors support the idea of a monarchy, less than 40 percent of those aged under 34 feel the same way.

The message is clear: If it wants to survive, the royal family has to make itself more relevant to young people.

POPPY MILLS, United Kingdom: I think it's outdated.

And I think the idea that, collectively, we have to pay for a family that by blood sees itself as above others is disgusting.

FREYJA HOBDAY, United Kingdom: I just don't get it.

I don't understand why we have got this one family who are apparently more important than the rest of us, and all this money is plowed into keeping them more than comfortable, literally things made of gold, when, like, lots of people are struggling.

I don't really understand why they are superior to the rest of us.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Old habits die hard.

Some of the seniors here start singing "God save the queen," but, by the chorus, they have remembered the correct national anthem.

Eight months into Charles' reign, Britain is still getting used to having a king.

Pianist Susan Bain.

What do you think of Charles as king?

SUSAN BAIN, United Kingdom: I think he's a thoughtful man.

And I think he will be a good king.

I hope he's got good advisers around him.

MALCOLM BRABANT: The guests at this coronation Tea Party in Lewes, Southern England, are the king's contemporaries.

As their lives are winding down, Charles is just starting to fulfill his destiny at the age of 74.

Shirley-Anne Sains is the town's mayor.

SHIRLEY-ANNE SAINS, Mayor of Lewes, England: I think he will be in good luck.

That's what everybody is hoping for.

But the importance of monarchy is a little bit diminished now we have lost the queen, because she was there so long.

CHESTER FUNNELL, United Kingdom: I would sooner be with a king than some of these other heads of state, and the pomp and the pageantry of our country is what a lot of people, including the Americans, are very envious of.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Nighttime rehearsals help perfect Britain's expertise at staging grand stage events.

But this coronation will be less opulent than the last 70 years ago.

ANNOUNCER: No day has ever dawned that rivaled this.

Into no other hours would ever cram so much.

Beauty, queenship, (INAUDIBLE) superb, her life outsoars the noblest fiction.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Is it the beginning of the end?

Is this the last coronation we're going to see?

ANNA WHITELOCK, Director, Center for the Study of Modern Monarchy: I don't think it's the last coronation we're going to see, but I think it's the start of a new of questioning and perception of the monarchy.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Professor Anna Whitelock is director of the Center for the Study of Modern Monarchy.

ANNA WHITELOCK: I think the sort of sense of amnesty about critical questioning of the monarchy that took place particularly during the latter part of the queen's reign is over now.

And people are questioning, why, what, how?

And those kind of questions about the monarchy's place, its role, its significance, its influence are being asked.

PROTESTER: Not my king.

PROTESTERS: Not my king!

GRAHAM SMITH, CEO, Republic: The institution itself is not fit for purpose.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Graham Smith runs an anti-monarchy organization whose noisy protests have punctuated King Charles' appearances since he ascended the throne.

GRAHAM SMITH: The monarchy is wrong in principle, first and foremost.

Most people in this country, 80 percent-plus, believe in democracy, believe in the accountability, equality and so on.

And the monarchy stands firmly against those values.

And we shouldn't be putting up with an institution that stands against the values and principles of the rest of the country.

PROTESTERS: Not my king!

Not my king!

MALCOLM BRABANT: This demonstration in Liverpool late last month is a taste of what Republic is planning for the coronation.

PROTESTERS: Not my king!

Not my king!

MALCOLM BRABANT: While, inside Westminster Abbey, one of the most symbolic acts the public won't witness will be the anointing of King Charles with holy oil to symbolize his spiritual status.

The Right Reverend Nick Baines is Bishop of Leeds.

RIGHT.

REV.

NICK BAINES, Bishop of Leeds: I think people confuse this with privilege.

They think he's given this massive privilege.

What he's swearing to, as happened with the queen back in 1953, you're taking on a massive responsibility for service.

So it's a point where you're saying, actually, I have got to give myself away in order to serve these people.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Perhaps the most controversial element of the coronation is the archbishop of Canterbury's invitation to the nation to pledge allegiance to the king and his heirs.

NATHAN BLACKSTONE, United Kingdom: It just feels very, very archaic to just sort of be going about with the whole holy anointed kings and stuff like that.

It just feels very backwards.

AMY BENNETT, United Kingdom: To me, personally, I just think it's a bit laughable.

I think they're so out of touch and so kind of beyond the commonality of people, that they think that that is like something that we're just going to soak up and just going to do without questioning it.

When, actually, you say that to people, you say that to me, and I will just be like -- like, obviously, I'm not going to do that.

Like, it just seems stupid.

But it shows how out of touch they are.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Out of touch or not, Saturday's pageantry will reinforce the appearance of a land of hope and glory, even if the monarchy is less revered under King Charles III.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant in Southern England.

GEOFF BENNETT: And you can watch our coverage of the coronation of King Charles III on PBS and also streaming on the "NewsHour" Web site starting very early in the morning, 2:30 a.m. Eastern.

The ceremony begins at 6:00.