King Charles III’s official coronation on May 6, 2023 is going to be much more modern, thanks in large part to Prince William. The Prince of Wales reportedly is taking planning for his father’s coronation very seriously and wants the ceremony to reflect the royal family’s updated values, cutting all of the “archaic,” “feudal,” and “imperial” elements from the coronation.
The Telegraph notes that an “expert report” helped spur Prince William’s interest in becoming more involved in setting the tone of the ceremony. This isn’t to say that the royals are starting from scratch when it comes to every detail of the May 6 coronation, which also happens to fall on King Charles’ grandson Archie’s birthday, plans for “Operation Golden Orb” have been in the works for years by a committee of clergy and historians including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Dorking, and historian Sir David Cannadine.
Prince William is acting as an advisor on said committee in an effort to update royal traditions for the 21st century and distance the monarchy from Imperial associations. Elements like the Court of Claims, an honorific custom where people who believe they have the right to perform a particular service for a new Monarch on their Coronation day plead their case, are likely on the chopping block.
And while the royal family honored the 10-day mourning period after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William is looking for ways to make his father’s coronation ceremony a little less lengthy and crowded, with only 2,000 guests (as opposed to the 8,000 that attended the Queen’s funeral).
It is still unclear how (or if) Prince Harry will be involved in the planning of King Charles III’s coronation ceremony. As far as the coronation ceremony landing on the same day as Archie’s fourth birthday, royals reporter Kate Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight that it is not a “snub” but rather a “happy coincidence.”
“Obviously, a huge amount of planning has to go into an important moment in history, such as a coronation, and the royal calendar is full of anniversaries and birthdays, so I think this is absolutely one of those occasions where it’s a coincidence and hopefully a happy coincidence,” Nicholl explained.
There’s still no word on whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s family will get an invite, given the brothers’ reported estrangement.
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