A housekeeper at Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is preparing to take part in history by performing at the Coronation Concert for King Charles III.

Emma Withey, who works at Bloxwich Hospital, will take to the stage with her choir Unify, at the Windsor Castle concert.

The choir is an all-deaf sign performance group and is the only deaf choir in the UK. Set up only a year ago, the choir are no strangers to performing at major national events, having previously performed at the Big Jubilee Street Party for the Platinum Jubilee.

Emma, who is from Walsall, said: “I was thrilled when I first found out that we were invited to perform at the coronation.

“I'm so excited that we will be performing in front of the Royals and people from all over the world will be watching on television.

“It feels amazing to be representing the NHS and my Trust at such an historic occasion.”

Emma has worked for Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust since it formed in 2020 and has worked at Bloxwich Hospital from 2016, prior to that she worked at Dorothy Pattison Hospital from 2005.

It will be an emotional moment for Emma who joined the choir to share her love of music with like-minded people in the deaf community.

Emma added: “Our performance at the concert is so important because representation matters and it’s a way for the deaf community to feel valued and seen.”

The choir are now busy with rehearsals on Zoom before going to London to add the finishing touches to their historic performance.

Unify will be join the likes of Take That, Katy Perry and Lionel Ritchie at the Coronation Concert which takes place on Sunday 7 May and will be shown live on the BBC.

The concert takes place the day after King Charles III and Queen Camilla are officially crowned at Westminster Abbey.

The choir will also be featured on the BBC1 documentary ‘Sing for the King’, on Friday 5 May at 8pm.