CUT-PRICE CORONATION
Diva demands and a bad temper have left palace staff reeling
For 70 years and 214 days, the late Queen Elizabeth II never let emotion overcome her. Sadly, the same can’t be said for her son King Charles III! According to palace insiders, the King’s notoriously short temper, combined with the burden of planning for his looming coronation is resulting in a pressure cooker situation!
“Losing his mother, becoming the monarch, planning a coronation and dealing with family tensions has been hard for him,” the source explains, noting that while most of his longtime staff know when a tantrum is coming, newer ones are still learning to read the signs.
“It’s stressful, and everyone’s just trying to muddle along.”
TENSIONS MOUNTING
Last week, Buckingham Palace revealed King Charles III will be crowned beside Queen Consort Camilla in a ceremony held at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6. But even something as simple as picking a date has taken a month to finalise. “Charles went back and forth over this for eons,” says a source. Insiders reveal the sovereign wanted to have it in early June to mirror his mother’s magnificent coronation, but there were too many diary clashes with the Epsom Derby and FA Cup. “He had to settle for May, but he wasn’t happy about it and made that known – especially as it’s now on the same day as his grandson Archie’s fourth birthday, which he knows will give Meghan and Harry more ammunition against him,” muses the source.
While palace sleuths reveal Charles, 73, has “many demands” about how the sacred ceremony should look and feel, the UK’S ongoing cost-of-living crisis has caused him to scale back his grand plans.
“Charles is being a bit of a brat about the coronation – he still wants it to be the event of the century, while not annoying a nation that is suffering. His aides are caught in the nightmare position of having to constantly remind him to keep within the budget,” says an insider.
Even the smaller details, such as his custom-made suits, are causing arguments with the King. “He isn’t happy with them... he will keep hiring and firing designers until they get it right,” says the source.
Undoubtedly the biggest headache is the guest list, which has reportedly been slashed from 8000 to 2000, causing Charles to leave out a large proportion of his celebrity friends, as well as some family.
Rumours are swirling over who will attend, with doubts over whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will even be invited – or if they are, whether they would even choose to come.
“Harry and Meghan will definitely see Charles picking Archie’s birthday as a snub,” says an insider. “They can’t believe he would do such a thing, especially when there’s so much chatter over whether he’ll allow the Sussex children to be prince and princess. Even if he does invite them, Harry will be far too proud to accept.”