The coronation of Carlos III is the imminent new historic appointment of the British royal family eight months after the burial of Elizabeth II. This Saturday the former Prince of Wales will be crowned, who was already proclaimed sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of the states that make up the Commonwealth a few hours after the death of his mother, thus following the adage of " a dead king, a king set".
The temple chosen for the ceremony is Westminster Abbey, the same setting where all British monarchs have been crowned since 1066. More than 2,000 personalities will attend, including foreign heads of state, politicians, members of British civil society, the royal family almost completely British and also some relatives of Camila, who finally, after decades of redemption, will be a queen.
As in all face-to-face celebrations, the guest list is limited, there are also guests who prefer to decline and others who must be invited but bring more problems than joy. The latter is perhaps the case with Prince Henry. It will be the first time that he meets with his family after his explosive memoirs were published, and, days before the coronation, he has further distanced his position by accusing his brother Guillermo of collecting a million-dollar agreement from Rupert Murdach's group to silence wiretaps. to the Windsors. The atmosphere between them is heated and they are not expected to speak to each other. Enrique is only expected in Westminster Abbey and in no other act.
Meghan Markle is not expected. Buckingham Palace has already reported that the exactriz-turned-duchess will not travel to London to attend the historic event. They did not elaborate on the reasons for her absence, but it was said that Markle will stay in her house in Montecito with her two children, Lilibeth and Archie, since the latter turns 4 on the same Saturday. Sources close to Enrique's wife have also assured the US media that the racism of which she accused the Windsors has nothing to do with her absence.
Another absentee from the ceremony, in this case because she was not invited, will be Sarah Ferguson, Prince Andrew's ex-wife. Fergie, as she is known in the United Kingdom, continues to live in a royal residence, the Royal Lodge, which she shares with her ex-husband despite being divorced since 1996. In addition, she is the one who cares for the corgi dogs that survived the monarch. As she herself commented: "I'm not going to go (to the coronation), it's a state appointment, and because I'm divorced I don't think you can have both." In return, she has been invited to the coronation concert to be held the next day at Windsor Castle.
Who will not attend the ceremony the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and in his place will be represented by the first lady, Jill Biden. The family of the remembered Diana of Wales, who are direct relatives of the heir, Prince William, is not expected to attend either. On the other hand, the degree of kinship with Queen Camilia has been taken into account to extend invitations outside the royal family, as her two children, Thomas Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, will go, whose children will be royal pages who will help carry the clothes of Camila and Carlos III.
But perhaps the most surprising name on the list is that of Camila's ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles. Despite being an unexpected guest, he is not surprised that he attends because of his many ties to the British royal family. Not only was he married to Queen Camila for 22 years and he is the grandfather of a large number of the royal pages at the ceremony, he also maintains a good relationship with Carlos III, he was an old love of Princess Ana and he is the godfather of her daughter , Zara Tindall.
Something also noteworthy is that in October 2022, and according to what was published at the time, Queen Camila asked her ex-husband to represent her at an official engagement, which was the funeral of John Bowes-Lyon, Queen Elizabeth II's second cousin. The couple maintains an excellent relationship despite their separation in 1995. It was the same year that Lady Di uttered the famous phrase "in my marriage there were three of us", which caused a great scandal since rumors of the longstanding romance were true. between the then Prince of Wales and his current wife.
Another of the uncomfortable guests is Prince Andrew. The Duke of York lost his honors, military titles and royal patronage over his sexual scandals involving pedophile and sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. He is expected to attend the coronation but will not participate in the official ceremonies as the king's family. In other words, he will not be part of the procession back to Buckingham by carriage from Westminster or in the greeting from the balcony of the palace, where the other siblings of Charles III, Princess Anne and prince edward.
Among the foreign dignitaries who will attend the coronation will be Kings Felipe VI and Letizia, as well as other monarchs, thus breaking the tradition that foreign reigning monarchs did not attend the coronations of British kings. Unlike Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia are not expected to be present at this event. Neither will Princess Leonor, who, although she is studying in the United Kingdom and the celebration is on the weekend, she has her end-of-year exams.
