All of the controversies surrounding King Charles’ coronation
King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, will officially be crowned this weekend at the coronation.
On Saturday, the royal family and 2,000 highly regarded guests will gather at Westminster Abbey for the extravagant coronation of King Charles III.
The 74-year-old monarch ascended to the British throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Sept. 8, 2022.
A recent study conducted ahead of the event found that the majority of young Brits are “not interested” in the royal family and believe the soon-to-be-anointed king is “out of touch.”
Yet several controversies around the royal institution have nabbed significant headlines as some view the monarchy itself to be outdated.
Charles’ brother, Prince Andrew — also known as The Problem Prince — will be in attendance, though he’s not expected to have a major role in the festivities.
Controversy-laden Prince Harry will also be present despite his cracked relationship with the royal family — including his now-literally distant brother, Prince William — especially afterhis bombshell memoir “Spare” and the Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan.”
Prince Harry will attend the coronation — but Meghan Markle will not
King Charles’ youngest son, Prince Harry, 38, traveled to London for the coronation on Friday, as Buckingham Palace confirmed last month
However, his wife, Meghan Markle, 41, will stay home in California with the pair’s children: Princess Lilibet, 1, and Prince Archie, who turns 4 on the day of his grandfather’s coronation.
Still, former royal butler Paul Burrell told the Sun that he believes the estranged royal will likely be seated 10 rows behind his famous family — or possibly just three rows back — and would not stick around to catch up with them, either, especially after makingexplosive claims about them in “Spare.”
Competing with Prince Archie’s birthday
Coincidentally, the coronation ceremony takes place on the same day as Prince Archie’s fourth birthday, May 6, and as a source previously recently proclaimed: “There was no way that Meghan was going to miss her son’s birthday.”
Another source added that “it is a shame” that Archie and Lilibet will not be in attendance on “such a historic occasion.”
Meghan also has faced royally disruptive issues within her own family, with her ailing, estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr., 78, still hoping to reconnect with her — and meet his grandchildren — despite his daughter seemingly sweeping away his memory in her Netflix docuseries.
“She killed me and then mourned me,” the elder Markle said in a recent Australian news show interview.
Meghan’s siblings also factor into the familial angst.
Her distant half-brother and half-sister, Thomas Jr. and Samantha, also hope to one day welcome her — and Harry — with open arms.
Prince Andrew’s participation in the coronation ceremony
King Charles III’s siblings — Princess Anne, Prince Edward and the controversial Prince Andrew — will all attend the ceremony.
Andrew, the Duke of York, was infamously stripped of his royal and military honors last year by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth III, following his association with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
However, Andrew is not expected to have a prominent role in the coronation ceremony, unlike other senior royals.
Sarah Ferguson was not invited
Prince Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson was snubbed from attending the coronation even though the pair still live together.
Perhaps she was still feeling the heat of having a significant role in Queen Elizabeth’s “annus horribilis.”
That was the moniker the late monarch gave the year 1992, a 12-month period rocked by tawdry royal scandals — including one involving a topless Fergie’s toes and an orally fixated American banker.
Whatever the case, Fergie appeared on the UK’s“Loose Women” talk show recently to explain that she wasn’t the least bit upset about being snubbed.
“I personally will be having a little tea room and coronation chicken sandwich and putting out the bunting,” she said. “That’s what I’m going to be doing. Because that would make me very happy.”
“You can’t have it both ways, you can’t be divorced and then say, ‘I want this … ‘[You’re in] or you’re out,” she admitted. “I think it’s really great to be supportive big time.”
However, Fergie will be given a special seat to watch Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and more at the coronation concert on May 7.
The controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond will not be worn in the crown
Queen Camilla, 75, will wear Queen Mary’s Crown, which is mounted with 2,200 diamonds and was known for previously holding the famed Koh-i-Noor — or Kohinoor — diamond.
The controversial gem, however, will not be included in the headpiece.
Instead, the diamond will remain locked in the Tower of London.
The Koh-i-Noor has been replaced by more Cullinan diamonds from the queen’s private collection: The Cullinan III, which is a pear-shaped 94.4-carat drop, and the square-cut 63.6-carat Cullinan IV.
Musical acts denied invitations to perform at the coronation concert
Big music acts including Adele, Harry Styles, The Spice Girls and Robbie Williams all allegedly rejected an invitation to perform at the coronation concert, possibly because of the royal family’s “PR disasters.”
“The royal family has faced a number of PR disasters in recent times, and anyone performing at the show would have to consider whether there would be a backlash from appearing amongst their fans,” Simon Jones, a publicist for Little Mix, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, told Rolling Stone in March.
Legendary “Rocketman” singer Elton John also reportedly turned down an opportunity to perform at the event, citing scheduling issues.
The cost of the coronation
Buckingham Palace does not announce how much the coronation actually costs, but unofficial sources cited by the BBC claim that the weekend will tally up to anywhere from $63 million to $125 million USD.
The occasion is funded by British taxpayers, although a recent survey found that more than half of Londoners do not believe they should pay for it.
The UK government also pitches in for the festivities, as does Buckingham Palace with an undisclosed amount.
Anti-monarchy protests
Hundreds of Brits are already awaiting the coronation festivities on the streets of London, but not all of them support the weekend ahead.
More than 1,500 protesters holding “not my king” signs are planning to gather at Trafalgar Square as the royal procession goes by.
“We’ll try and keep the atmosphere light, but our aim is to make it impossible to ignore,” said Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchist group Republic.
Smith called the coronation “a celebration of a corrupt institution. And it is a celebration of one man taking a job that he has not earned.”
