Charles sets himself curfew on parties before Coronation
KING CHARLES has set himself a 6pm curfew on the night before his Coronation to prevent him tiring himself out before the ceremony.
The monarch, 74, will be crowned in a service at Westminster Abbey on May 6, with foreign dignitaries and other VIPs invited to a series of receptions and parties in London across the weekend.
But The Sunday Telegraph understands the King has informed aides he will not attend any royal duties after 6pm the night before the ceremony to ensure he is well-rested.
“There have been some logistical challenges caused by the King,” said a source.
“He doesn’t want to do anything in the evening in case it tires him out. There will be no partying.”
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the King’s plans, but a royal source said it sounded “quite sensible” to get an early night before the Coronation.
They noted that the monarch was a “renowned workaholic” and would not be shirking his responsibilities.
The King will host a reception for Commonwealth leaders on May 5 and there will be a dinner for world leaders at Buckingham Palace that evening. There will be no repeat of the Commonwealth banquet held before the coronation of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, which organised the previous two coronation feasts, said that “what was appropriate then will not necessarily be appropriate now”.
The ceremony will be followed by a procession back to Buckingham Palace,
‘There have been some logistical challenges. The [King] doesn’t want to do anything in the evening’
where the King and other members of the royal family will appear on the building’s balcony overlooking the Mall. The following day, a Coronation Concert will be broadcast live from Windsor Castle by the BBC.
The procession and ceremony itself will be pared-down compared with previous coronations, in a move designed to reflect public attitudes and the financial fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Around 2,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.