King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will be joined by 2,000 guests at Westminster Abbey for their coronation today (Saturday 6 May).
Among the senior members of the royal family, a number of celebrities, actors, and politicians in attendance. The Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct the ceremony.
After months of speculation surrounding whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will attend the event, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Wednesday 12 April that Prince Harry will attend. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will stay at home with their children, Archie and Lilbet.
Meanwhile, The Independent understands that Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York has not been invited by the King. Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, is also believed to have been snubbed.
Here are all of the royals and celebrities who have confirmed they will be attending the King’s coronation:
Prince Harry
Prince Harry will attend the coronation of his father and Queen Camilla, while his wife, Meghan Markle, will stay at home in California with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. It is believed that Meghan’s decision to stay is, in part, to do with the fact that the coronation date of 6 May falls on Archie’s fourth birthday.
The news comes after months of speculation over whether the couple would attend the 6 May ceremony.
The Duke of Sussex has been seeking an apology from his family, according to his round of television interviews in January.
Despite the Duke’s insistence that he wanted to reconcile with his father and brother, there has been no word of any meaningful reunion with Charles and William since the many personal family revelations made in his memoir, Spare.
“Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that the Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on 6 May,” the royal statement said on Wednesday. “The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.”
Prince William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales
As heir to the throne, William will be in attendance with his wife Kate, Princess of Wales, and will likely be very close to the King and Queen Consort throughout the day. They are expected to follow behind the monarch and his wife in the royal procession with their children, Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince Louis, four.
Princess Beatrice and Eugenie
Though the King and Queen have decided not to invite Sarah Ferguson to the coronation, her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Eugenie will likely attend the event, as they are 10th and 11th in line to the British throne.
Zara and Mike Tindall
Zara Tindall, the granddaughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and niece of King Charles III, will likely be attending the coronation with her husband. Mike Tindall recently appeared on I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and was also present with Zara at the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Zara is 20th in the line of succession to the throne.
Dame Joanna Lumley
Sky News announced on Thursday (13 April) that the Absolutely Fabulous star will be joining correspondents Alastair Bruce, Kay Burley and Anna Botting as a special guest in the news coverage on the day, fresh from attending the coronation service.
The statement reads: “The actress will join the Sky News line-up on Saturday fresh from attending the Coronation service at Westminster Abbey as a guest of the King and Queen Consort.”
Lumley is reportedly a “close friend” of King Charles and attended his wedding to Camilla in 2005.
“I know them [the royal family], so I know it’s all made up and it’s rubbish,” she told Women’s Weekly previously.
She added: “All the poor actors who are doing their best to copy them, it’s awful. Imagine somebody making up conversations they think you’ve had.”
Jill Biden
US President Joe Biden has revealed that he will not be attending King Charles III’s coronation and that his wife Jill Biden will be going without him.
The White House confirmed in a readout of Biden’s call with the King, shared on 4 April, that the first lady will be going to the coronation in May to represent the US.
“The President congratulated the King on his upcoming Coronation and informed him that First Lady Jill Biden looks forward to attending on behalf of the United States,” the statement read.
Ant and Dec
TV presenters Ant and Dec will attend the coronation with the Prince’s Trust.
The pair are long-time goodwill ambassadors for King Charles III’s charity and will be joined on the day by young people supported by the Prince’s Trust.
Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have hosted the Prince’s Trust Awards 10 times. They recently launched a course titled Making It In Media with the charity that aims to make the media industry more accessible to young people.
Nick Cave
Australian singer-songwriter Nick Cave revealed in his newsletter to fans that he will be attending the coronation as part of the Australian delegation.
He responded to criticism over his attendance and said that while he is not a monarchist or royalist, he is also not an “ardent republican, for that matter”.
“What I am also not is so spectacularly incurious about the world and the way it works, so ideologically captured, so damn grouchy, as to refuse an invitation to what will more than likely be the most important historical event in the UK of our age. Not just the most important, but the strangest, the weirdest,” Cave wrote.
He also recalled meeting the late Queen Elizabeth II at an event in Buckingham Palace years ago and described her as “the most charismatic woman I have ever met”.
Family and friends of the Queen Consort
One divorcee who will attend is the Queen Consort’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles, 83.
A friend told the Sunday Times of their enduring friendship: “They are joined at the hip. He arranges so much for her.
“They have lunch together the whole time. He’s right in there. He was always, and still is, Camilla’s co-conspirator.”
Her three grandsons Gus and Louis Lopes, 13, Freddy Parker Bowles, 13, and her great-nephew, Arthur Elliot, 10, will be her pages of honour.
Her younger sister Annabel Elliot, 74, and her friend the Marchioness of Lansdowne, 68, will support her during the service as ladies in attendance.
Her son Tom Parker Bowles, 48, and daughter Laura Lopes, 45, and close friends will also join.
Foreign royals
Members of foreign royal families will be invited to the ceremony in an historic break with tradition.
Centuries-old tradition stated that a coronation should be a sacred ceremony between a monarch and their people in the presence of God.
Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco were the first foreign royals to confirm they will be going to the ceremony.
Others who have confirmed their attendance include King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Dragon King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and his wife Queen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck.
Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko of Japan will represent Emperor Naruhito at the ceremony.
UK politicians
Uproar erupted among MPs and peers earlier this year when it was announced just 20 MPs and 20 peers would enter a ballot for a place at the ceremony, The Telegraph reported.
That number has reportedly since been expanded but far fewer than the 800 MPs and 910 peers who were invited to the late Queen’s coronation will make the cut.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and all his living predecessors are expected to be there alongside Cabinet ministers and leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer.
First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf has accepted an invite despite being a republican and having promised to speak at a pro-independence rally in Glasgow on the same day, which he now will not do.
Sinn Fein’s leader in Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill has sparked criticism from some by accepting her invitation to the ceremony.
She said she will go to advance “peace and reconciliation” despite being “an Irish republican.”
Foreign leaders
US president Joe Biden will not be attending the service but Washington has been at pains to deny the move is a snub. First Lady Jill Biden will instead represent the US.
French president Emmanuel Macron announced earlier this month that he will be there to show his “friendship, respect and esteem” for the UK.
Germany and Italy will send their ceremonial presidents Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Sergio Mattarella, rather than heads of government Olaf Scholz and Giorgia Meloni.
Chinese vice-president Han Zheng, who presided over a civil liberties crackdown in Hong Kong, is also on the King’s guest list. The move has been branded “outrageous” by Conservative MPs.
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif have both said they are going.
Some Commonwealth leaders are not expected to be in attendance due to growing rifts over the colonial past, despite the Queen Consort’s decision not to wear the controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond.
Everyday heroes
More than 850 community and charity representatives from across the UK have been invited to the King’s coronation.
Invitations to the service itself have been extended to more than 450 British Empire Medal recipients in recognition of their contributions.
Among them is record-breaker Max Woosey, 13, dubbed “the boy in the tent”, who raised more than £750,000 for North Devon Hospice by camping in his garden for three years.
Some 400 young people representing charities will also be able to watch the coronation service and procession from the adjacent St Margaret’s Church.
Keep up to speed with all of the latest royal news via The Independent’s liveblog.
Additional reporting by Press Association
