Who's coming to the coronation of King Charles III?
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The coronation of King Charles III will be attended by 2,000 people including royals and world leaders.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON - The coronation of King Charles III
Here’s what we know about who is expected to be there and who is not.
Turning up
Prince Harry, estranged from most members of his family after quitting his royal duties and airing his grievances in public,
confirmed he would attend,
after months of reported negotiations with Buckingham Palace.World leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng. Senior Conservative MP and China critic Iain Duncan Smith labelled Mr Han’s likely attendance “outrageous”. He said Mr Han had been “responsible for trashing” China’s Hong Kong treaty with Britain by overseeing a crackdown on the territory’s freedoms.
Northern Ireland’s nationalist First Minister-elect Michelle O’Neill. Her party Sinn Fein wants reunification on the island of Ireland and opposes the monarchy. Sinn Fein was formerly the political wing of the paramilitary Irish Republican Army (IRA). The IRA blew up King Charles’ great uncle and mentor Louis Mountbatten in 1979.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, along with members of the Cabinet.
Hundreds of community heroes honoured by the monarchy including English schoolboy Max Woosey, who slept in a tent in his garden for three years to raise money for charity, and Mr Richard Thomas, who delivered 10,000 prescriptions to people during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Four hundred young people from organisations supported by the royal family.
Royals including 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; Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway; King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands; Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco; King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium; King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan; Queen Anne-Marie and Crown Prince Pavlos of the Greek royal family; Margareta, custodian of the Romanian crown, and Prince Radu; Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg; Maori King Tuheitia; King Carl XVI Gustaf and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden; King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida of Thailand.
Around 80 members of the Upper and Lower Houses of the British Parliament.
Queen Camilla’s children, food writer Tom Parker Bowles and art curator Laura Lopes, as well as their father Andrew Parker Bowles, Camilla’s first husband.
Staying away or not invited
United States President Joe Biden
will represented by his wife, First Lady Jill Biden.
UK and US officials say this is in line with precedent and no president has ever attended a British sovereign’s coronation. The White House insisted the no-show by Mr Biden, who is famously proud of his Irish roots, “is not a snub”. It said the President and the King enjoyed a “good relationship” and Mr Biden had already accepted King Charles’ invitation for a state visit to the UK.Prince Harry’s wife Meghan will remain in California with their children Lilibet and Archie, whose fourth birthday falls on the day of the coronation.
Most of Britain’s 24 non-royal dukes. The aristocrats normally attend in coronation robes and coronets but appear to have lost out due to King Charles’ reported wish for the invitation list to be “meritocratic not aristocratic”. The Duke of Rutland told the Daily Mail he was disappointed as it had been “families like mine that have supported the royal family over 1,000 years”.
British MPs have not been allowed to bring spouses or partners.
Ms Sarah Ferguson, ex-wife of the King’s brother, Prince Andrew, who still lives with him on the royal family’s Windsor estate. Ms Ferguson has repeatedly embarrassed the royal family.
Lady Pamela Mountbatten, 94, daughter of Louis Mountbatten and one of only two surviving bridesmaids from Queen Elizabeth II’s 1947 wedding. Her daughter India Hicks said on Instagram that the family had been contacted by a royal aide. She said they understood that the King was sending “apologies for offending many family and friends with the reduced list”. AFP
