KING Charles will be officially crowned on May 6 – almost 70 years after the Queen’s historic coronation.
As plans for the massive event get under way, Brits have begun speculating over what the celebrations will entail.
King Charles will be officially crowned on May 6
Prince William will no doubt play a key supporting role at the coronation
The King is understood to want a scaled-back Coronation in recognition of the rising cost of living and to support his idea of slimmed-down monarchy.
The event will “represent modern Britain” and is expected to be cut to just an hour, but not much more is known about what the celebrations will entail.
As it falls on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s son Archie’s fourth birthday, questions have been raised over whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will attend.
And MPs have called for the May Bank Holiday to delayed a week from Monday, May 1, so Brits get a long weekend to mark the coronation.
Here, we dive into five key questions all Brits are asking ahead of King Charles’ coronation.
Will Meghan and Harry be there?
Harry and Meghan‘s son Archie will be celebrating his fourth birthday on the day his great grandfather is crowned.
The family – who live in a £11 million 16-bed, nine-bath mansion in Montecito, California – will no doubt wish to celebrate the milestone, throwing into doubt whether Harry and Meghan will attend the King’s coronation.
Royal expert Angela Levin said the question of the Sussexes’ attendance will depend on what happens with Harry’s highly anticipated memoirs.
She told HOAR: “I think he wants to put it off to next year but I don’t think he can put it off to after [the coronation] and then be nasty.
“If he is nasty about the new King it would be nonsense to invite him.
“That implies as well that if Meghan’s podcast is full of nastiness about the royals and what a terrible time she had and how awful it was.
“They won’t be the sort of people you’d want to invite to a coronation.
“However I expect they would like to come – it would make a very good addition to their [reality documentary].
“I think they would like to come to it so they can use it to make money from their documentary.
“But if they don’t behave kindly and get rid of all the spitefulness that they’re showing towards the Royal family I don’t think they should be.
“The issue is, like parents that have difficult children – you can love them even though you hate what they’re doing.
“If King Charles loves his family, he might invite them. But I don’t think it would go very will citizens in this country.”
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said Harry and Meghan will likely want to attend the coronation – regardless of whether or not they are invited.
He told the Sun: “If I have to bet, they would go. After all Charles is Harry’s father and he will be crowned.
“This will be an event that they want to tell their children about.
“The fact that Archie has a connection with it… I would say yes, they will go.”
Many Brits have wondered whether Harry and Meghan will attend the coronation
It is not yet known exactly what crown Camilla will wear for the coronation next year
The Prince of and Princess of Wales are seen waving to crowds during a visit to Northern Ireland
Will we get a Bank Holiday?
The coronation has been scheduled for Saturday, May 6, the Palace announced on Tuesday.
But as the Bank Holiday falls on Monday, May 1, MPs want this to be delayed a week so Brits get a long weekend to mark the coronation.
It would mean a Bank Holiday would start on the day of the King and Queen’s crowning on Saturday, May 6 and run until Monday, May 8.
Former Tory Cabinet Minister David Jones said: “To combine the two events would be welcomed by the entire nation.
“It would make a very special memory for all of us.”
Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood agreed, adding: “A Bank Holiday would help strengthen our transition to a new era.”
While Labour’s Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, echoed the calls, adding: “We have a unique system with the monarchy and an independent parliament.
“I would back Britons having a three-day weekend to mark the occasion.”
A Bank Holiday has not yet been confirmed for the weekend of the coronation.
It comes as royal aide said any plan to create a Bank Holiday weekend or hold other large-scale celebratory events around the historic crowning would be up to the Government.
Last night a Downing Street source did not rule out the idea, telling the Daily Mail: “No decisions have been taken.”
What role will William play? And will Harry be prominent?
Prince William – who took on the title of Prince of Wales when his dad became king – will no doubt play a key supporting role at the coronation.
Royal expert Richard said: “William will have a role paying homage [to his father] I don’t have an outline of this ceremony.
“But the tradition has been in place for over 1,000 years. And that’s important. Monarchy has been part and parcel of Britain.
“No doubt it will be an important role.
“It will strike several chords, it will have meaning, and it will have years of history.”
His brother Prince Harry’s role, however, will depend on whether or not he can “behave”, Angela stressed.
She told the Sun: “If he complains about his role endlessly in his memoirs [that may change his role in proceedings].
“The book is going to end with the death of the Queen.
“If he goes on about it then it’s not fair and not right.
“I hope Charles isn’t persuaded that he should give him an important part.
“I think it’s a very difficult situation to try and work around. And maybe he hasn’t made up his mind yet.
“Camilla believes that if it’s a family issue the door should always be left open in case they want to come back.
“That doesn’t mean that you can come back if you’re hurting the people that love you.”
What crown will Camilla be given?
It is not yet known exactly what crown Camilla will wear for the coronation next year.
But royal experts have stressed that it is unlikely to be the same crown as the Queen mother wore – as she is a Queen Consort rather than a fully fledged Queen.
The Queen Mother’s Crown was made for her to wear at her coronation – alongside King George VI – in 1937 and is made up of about 2,800 diamonds.
Angela – whose new book Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall: From Outcast to Future Queen Consort dives into Camilla’s life – said: “I know that it won’t be the top tier [of crowns] because she’s Queen Consort. She isn’t just the Queen.
“And because she’s married to the King she doesn’t have a crown that is right at the top worth absolute millions – it might be worth one million.
“It won’t be so full of so many jewels. I think that’s quite fair – she’s attached to the King by marriage.
“Maybe the Queen even chose one she’d like Camilla to wear.
“The Queen was very keen to leave no loose ends before she passed away which is why she saw in and out the former and current PM.
“And why she wanted people to know she wanted Camilla as Queen Consort.
“It will be very carefully thought about and it will be toned down. But I do hope that it will be an amazing occasion.
“With the royals, clothes speak volumes.”
Meanwhile, Richard said while it isn’t known what crown Queen Camilla will wear, there is no doubt it will be a glamorous ceremony.
He added: “I do wish they would stop calling it a cut-price coronation. It’s not going to be in Primark it will be in Westminster Abbey.”
What will King Charles do afterwards?
King Charles’ plans for his first act as a crowned King are not yet known.
But many have speculated he will go on tour with Camilla, keeping up their “accessible” role on the Royal front-line.
Angela added: “I think that it would be very accessible. We saw that when Prince Charles came back [to London] after his mother died.
“We thought they would all be exhausted – but they went and shook hands with all the crowds who were there cheering and singing God Save the King.
“King Charles also wants to be more accessible. People do want to know more about them and have them be more accessible.
“I think they will go to America because America has a lot of importance to this country.
“[Americans] have been against the monarchy for how they treated Meghan but a lot more are coming on board.
“They loved the Platinum Jubilee and the funeral – and what an amazing show we put on.
“I think it’s quite important for the country that they go there.”
King Charles’ plans for his first act as a crowned King are not yet known
