When it was announced on Tuesday (11 October) that King Charles III will be crowned on Saturday 6 May, 2023, many noticed that this date coincides with another event on the royal calendar: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor’s birthday.
The young son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will turn four that day. It has not been confirmed whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will travel to the UK with their children to attend Charles’s coronation.
While the date is likely a coincidence, some have called out the King and accused him of “stealing the spotlight” from his grandson.
“Weird isn’t it? Grandpa stealing the spotlight from his grandchild,” one user wrote, while another questioned: “Did no one check a calendar before they settled on a date?”
Others, however, thought it was a “lovely gesture” for the coronation to be held on Archie’s birthday.
“How nice for the little kid to know his grandpa’s coronation was on his birthday,” one person wrote.
Others pointed out that the date is actually a homage to the King’s great-grandfather’s ascension to the throne.
King George V became King on 6 May 1910. His coronation was held on 22 June 1911.
“It’s the anniversary of the accession of George V, the founder of the house of Windsor. The world doesn’t revolve around the Sussexes,” one person wrote.
A royal expert has since claimed that the date is “not a snub” but rather a “happy coincidence”.
Buckingham Palace announced the date of King Charles’ coronation on Tuesday in a statement that read: “Buckingham Palace is pleased to announce that the coronation of His Majesty The King will take place on Saturday 6 May 2023.
“The coronation ceremony will take place at Westminster Abbey, London, and will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
“The ceremony will see His Majesty King Charles III crowned alongside the Queen Consort.
“The coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in long standing traditions and pageantry.”
It is not yet known whether the coronation will be a bank holiday but, as it falls on a Saturday, it is unlikely.
