King Charles III’s coronation ceremony will have about 2,000 guests, a quarter of the more than 8,000 who filled Westminster Abbey in 1953 for the coronation of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8. Charles’s coronation, scheduled for May 6, will be a historic day for the British monarchy and several celebrations will take place.
According to sky news, former military personnel and employees of the UK National Health Service will have a special place at the event, as a form of public service recognition. They will therefore take place in the grandstand, which will be set up in front of Buckingham Palace, in London, with a privileged view of the balcony, where the royal wave will take place. And according AFP, Charles III will also honor hundreds of unsung heroes of the British Commonwealth.
The parade, which is expected to be the “largest ceremonial military operation of the past 70 years,” will involve 6,000 troops. From sailors to soldiers and airmen, they will accompany the King and Queen to and from Westminster Abbey, where the coronation ceremony will take place, presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury. According to sky newsCharles III and Camilla Parker Bowles are transported to the Abbey in a carriage drawn by six Windsor gray horses.
Harry yes, Meghan no
After months of negotiations with Buckingham Palace, Charles’ son, Harry, will attend, but his wife, Meghan Markle, will remain in the US. Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, the children of the Queen Consort (traditional title for the wife of the reigning monarch) will be in attendance.
World leaders include French President Emmanuel Macron, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. So are the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, and his wife, Akshata Murty.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko of Japan, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco, and King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan are some of the royals in attendance will be.
The day after the coronation, on May 7, there will be a celebratory concert at Windsor Castle, with artists such as Take That, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie already confirmed.
From Biden to Sarah Ferguson: the absent and uninvited
Joe Biden is represented by his wife, First Lady Jill Biden. The US president thus fills a historic absence: no American leader has ever attended the coronation of a British sovereign. The White House insisted the absence of Biden, known for his pride in his Irish roots, “is not an insult” and that he had already planned a state visit to the United Kingdom.
Also left out was 94-year-old Lady Pamela Mountbatten, daughter of Charles’s great-uncle and mentor, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and one of only two living bridesmaids at Queen Elizabeth II’s 1947 wedding. The daughter, India Hicks, said on Instagram that the family had been approached by a royal aide, who apologized on behalf of the king “for offending many family and friends with the abbreviated list” of the coronation.
Most of Britain’s 24 non-royal dukes were also not invited. These often attended dressed in coronation robes and crowns, but were influenced by Charles III’s wish that the guest list be “meritocratic rather than aristocratic”. The Duke of Rutland expressed his disappointment to the Daily Mail newspaper. It was “families like mine that have supported the royal family for over 1,000 years,” he said.
Another absentee is Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of the King’s brother Prince Andrew, who still lives with him at the Royal Family’s Windsor estate.
British MPs were not allowed to bring spouses.
Source: DN
