Prince Harry is in the spotlight right now due to all the bombshells from his memoir Spare, but the other royals aren’t completely out of the woods either! King Charles is still making headlines, as insiders are reportedly hinting that his coronation could be invalidated due to his past affair with Camilla – and we have so many questions!
King Charles’ coronation ceremony could be invalidated because of his affair, a royal author has claimed https://t.co/ewew4FnbrD
— Mirror Royal (@MirrorRoyal) January 1, 2023
What Do We Know About King Charles’ Coronation So Far?
We currently know that the 74-year-old monarch‘s coronation will take place on Saturday, May 6th at Westminster Abbey, where we will see the crown officially placed on his head. It will be the first coronation of its kind since Queen Elizabeth II was crowned back in 1953, so it’s not at all surprising to hear that the royal family is planning a “glorious” “once-in-a-lifetime spectacle” with 2,000 guests.
The Coronation Could Be Invalidated Due To King Charles Confessing To Adultery
However, according to a royal expert, the coronation might not be the smooth sailing that the new King and the royal family hopes, as it could potentially be invalidated due to King Charles previously confessing to cheating on the late Princess Diana, who he was married to at the time, with his now wife and current Queen Consort Camilla – then more commonly known as Camilla Parker-Bowles.
Royal author Anthony Holden argued any coronation was likely to be invalid
The Church of England has never crowned a divorced man as King, let alone one who has publicly confessed to adultery, https://t.co/HTL7aldUHC via @MailOnline— Johnny Robinson (@jrmusicoffic) January 1, 2023
The Church of England Has ‘Never Crowned A Divorced Man As King’
Royal expert Anthony Holden suggested that the coronation could be invalidated because King Charles confessed to committing adultery – something which a monarch has never confessed to in the past! “The Church of England has never crowned a divorced man as King, let alone one who has publicly confessed to adultery – with the relevant woman expecting to be crowned Queen Consort,” Holden wrote in The Guardian, adding that King Charles’ adultery “would require a new statute of Parliament,” adding, “The late Robert Runcie [the former Archbishop of Canterbury] told me this would require a revision of the coronation oath.”
“Given the convention that Parliament does not debate the monarchy without the monarch’s consent, this would require the Prime Minister to seek King Charles’s permission. This, Runcie told me, would amount to a constitutional crisis,” Holden added.
Other Experts Say King Charles Has 'Nothing To Worry About'
However, other experts have hinted that the new monarch doesn’t have anything to worry about due to something that happened at his and Camilla's wedding back in April 2005. According to Sir Vernon Bogdanor, a research professor at King's College London's Centre for British Politics and Government who spoke to the Mail on Sunday, "Charles and Camilla's wedding was followed by a Service of Prayer and Dedication, led by Archbishop Rowan Williams. This surely overrides anything Robert Runcie may or may not have said."
Bogdanor isn’t the only one who shares this opinion, as Barrister Geoffrey Robertson KC also weighed in, adding: "The coronation is a legal irrelevance, just a silly and superstitious Church of England ritual. Charles has no need at all to be crowned by a minority church."
King Charles And Camilla Reportedly Have The New Archbishop Of Canterbury's Blessing
Contrary to what Holden said about the late Robert Runcie, the current Archbishop of Canterbury is reportedly "looking forward" to crowning the new King and Queen, which is a sign of the times changing and the royal family moving with the times! A Lambeth Palace spokesperson reportedly said: "We cannot comment on accounts of a private conversation that Archbishop Robert Runcie may have had while he was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980-1991. But clearly much has changed since that time – both in society and in the Church of England."
"The current Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is looking forward to the great honor of crowning King Charles III and the Queen Consort in May this year," they added. "Across the Church of England we continue to pray for the King and the Queen Consort as they prepare for this important moment in the life of our nation and the Commonwealth."
