Alexander Larman

Will Prince Harry and Meghan spoil the King’s coronation?

As the furore caused by the publication of Spare may – or may not – be dying down, there are some signs that the Royal Family are beginning to take back control of the media narrative, while refusing to make any public comment on Prince Harry’s revelations.

Firstly, there was the announcement that Prince Charles will be handing back up to £250 million a year from profits that the Crown Estate have harvested from offshore wind farms. Now the first details of the coronation on Saturday 6 May have emerged. Anyone who saw the King’s speech at Christmas will have realised that this is intended to be a different kind of reign to his mother’s, with a more liberal and inclusive attitude, and so his coronation will continue this new regime. Details of the three-day celebration have emphasised its diverse credentials, with everything from a coronation choir that will feature deaf singers and LGBTQ+ representatives to the Big Help Out, an initiative that is designed to boost both volunteer groups and public service.

There remains the lingering, sulphurous odour of the soap opera that has been consuming the Royal Family

A royal source has indicated that the celebration will be both ‘majestic’ and ‘inclusive’. Rather than wallowing in old-fashioned pageantry, the presence of ‘global musical icons and contemporary stars’ at a coronation concert on Sunday 7 May at Windsor indicates that the event is designed to have a celebratory, unifying feel. Notably, the King will not be donning the habitual royal outfit of breeches and stockings when he is crowned; he will instead opt for military attire, although it is expected that he will still wear the garb of majesty at various points during the ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

Just as the coronations of both George VI and Elizabeth II were intended to show that Britain was still a global force to be reckoned with, the determinedly contemporary feel of King Charles’s investiture is a clear attempt to demonstrate that the monarchy is still relevant not just to the United Kingdom, but to the world.

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