As the appointed heir, King Charles III ascended to the throne upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
But because a royal coronation is a big, lavish, costly spectacle (and the taxpayers of the UK just shelled out for a lavish, costly state funeral), Charles won’t be officially crowned until next year.
Earlier this week, palace officials announced that the coronation will take place on May 6, 2023.
Fans of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s — the folks informally known as the Sussex Squad — were quick to note that date is significant for another reason, as well:
It’s the fourth birthday of Harry and Meghan’s first child, Archie!
Now, the announcement about Charles’ coronation didn’t include any information about why the date was chosen, so we have no idea why they didn’t just schedule it for the following week, or something.
We don’t even know if Harry and Meghan will be in attendance, so perhaps the Archie factor simply wasn’t considered.
We do know that the whole affair will probably be quite pricey.
Queen Elizabeth’s 1953 coronation cost $1.74 million at the time, which would be thee equivalent of around $50 million today.
“The coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look toward the future, while being rooted in long-standing traditions and pageantry,” reads a statement from the palace.
The spokesperson proceeded to offer some specifics about the ways in which the ceremony will be “less fussy” than previous coronations.
For one, will be much shorter, clocking in at around an hour in length.
Charles will undergo fewer outfit changes, thus reminding the British people that he’s their king, and and not Lady Gaga on tour.
The palace has also eliminated some of the more time-consuming ceremonies, including something called “the presentation of gold bars.”
One other major way in which Charles’ coronation will differ from that of his mother’s is that he won’t be the only getting crowned.
“The Ceremony will see His Majesty King Charles III crowned alongside The Queen Consort,” reads a statement issued by the palace.
We knew that Camilla would receive the title of Queen Consort after Elizabeth’s death (this, by order of Elizabeth herself), but until this week, it was not clear that she would be ceremonially crowned.
Interestingly, the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, received no such honor at his wife’s coronation.
Are the royals seeking to send a message that Camilla will take a more active role in co-reigning with Charles?
Or is this just a way for the Brits to return to tradition with a king and queen who will rule together?
Whatever the case, we just hope all this pomp and circumstance won’t overshadow the most important ceremony of the day.
We’re talking, of course, about Archie opening his presents and blowing out the four candles on his cake!