Everything to know about the chaos that is King Charles’ coronation

As we know, Charles III — at the age of 73 — became the oldest person to accede to the British throne following the death of his mother Elizabeth II this past September. The upcoming coronation ceremony, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday 6 May, will formalise his new status as King eight months on from his automatic appointment on 8 September.

Set to be crowned at Westminster Abbey alongside his wife Camilla — who will be crowned as Queen Consort — the ceremony is poised to be a once in a generation event that will go down in history, and will see the addition of a dedicated bank holiday across the United Kingdom in honour of His Majesty.

Despite reports that the King will be crowned in a ‘cost of living’ coronation that will reflect his ‘vision for a slimmed down monarchy’ (he will be crowned with a solid gold crown complete with over 400 gemstones, including rubies, garnets, sapphires), there have already been a number of bumps in the road.

From more minor hiccups to revelations that have thrown the coronation into carnage territory, here are some points of note ahead of the upcoming ceremony…

Virginia Giuffre’s tell-all memoir

Back in January, it was reported that Virginia Giuffre — who has long alleged that she was trafficked and abused as a teenager by the late Jeffrey Epstein — has reportedly signed a book deal worth millions of dollars. This comes a year after agreeing to a settlement with Prince Andrew in her sex-abuse lawsuit against the royal, who still maintains that these claims are untrue.

Prince Andrew

The lawyer for the Duke’s accuser Virginia Giuffre has reportedly challenged Prince Andrew to contact him if he wanted to overturn their multi-million settlement, noting that he would be running a “terrible criminal risk” in doing so. The disgraced Duke of York is also causing something of a stir by refusing to move out of his taxpayer-funded lodgings at the Royal Lodge in Windsor. There is mounting speculation that he may be forced out, but it’s said that he won’t leave without a fight.

Harry and Meghan’s eviction from Frogmore Cottage

Furthering the bad press surrounding the Royals this week is word that Charles III has requested that Harry and Meghan vacate their five-bedroom property on the grounds of Windsor Castle, which would leave them without an official royal residence. Regardless of the fact that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been living in a privately-owned mansion in California with their children for almost three years, rumours that Frogmore Cottage may be offered to Prince Andrew have caused quite a bit of backlash.

Snubbed by the stars

The day after the formal ceremony, there will be a Coronation Lunch, followed by a Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle, which will be broadcast by the BBC and attended by 10,000 members of the public, tickets to which are accessed via national ballot. However, can the show go on with no headliner? It has been reported that the Spice Girls, Adele, Harry Styles, Robbie Williams, and Elton John have declined the offer to play at the concert. This refusal has cast a light upon the changing mindset surrounding associations with the Royal family.

The Queen Consort

Being crowned alongside her husband at the coronation ceremony, it has been reported that Queen Consort Camilla will drop the ‘Consort’ title and retain that of ‘Queen’. According to inside sources, “There’s a view in the palace that Queen Consort is cumbersome and it might be simpler for Camilla to be known just as the Queen when the time is right.”

Camilla selects Princess Diana’s ‘favourite designer’ for coronation gown

It has been revealed that Camilla will wear a Bruce Oldfield Couture gown to the coronation, who just so happens to be Princess Diana’s favourite designer. Having been credited with giving Camilla ‘confidence’, Oldfield had a professional relationship with Diana for 10 years and designed some of her most well known outfits.

Stay tuned for more King Charles III coronation drama as we get it.

Feature image via @theroyalfamily on Instagram.