Wow, aristocrats are still seething about not getting coronation invitations

One of my favorite sub-genres of “coronation gossip” was all of the reporting about the random aristocrats who were so pissed off that they were not invited to the coronation. There were multiple stories for months about titled “peers of the realm” leaving angry voicemail messages and sending strongly-worded parchments to the Duke of Norfolk, who was in charge of the whole fiasco. King Charles didn’t invite most of the non-royal dukes and they were ready to storm the castle. Charles didn’t even invite many royal-adjacents and various cousins, nor did he invite anyone from the Mountbatten family. Of course, Katy Perry and Queen Camilla’s ex-husband got invites. Yeah. As I said before the Chubbly, if the aristos are truly angry about it, it’s going to be a slow-burn gossip story. It looks like people are still steamed. From Hugo Vickers piece in the Mail:

Up and down the country the aristocrats are hopping mad. Almost all of them were excluded from the Coronation. I’m told that the Duke of Norfolk – who as Earl Marshal had a key role in organising the ceremony – was bombarded by letters from peers explaining why they should be there.

When giving talks and lectures in the months beforehand, I found myself assailed by disappointed hereditary peers whose robes would be remaining in the cupboard. One of them assured me that as a peer of the realm, he had an ‘inalienable right’ to be present at a Coronation.

I am all for inclusivity and for acknowledging changing times. But I have this rather controversial suggestion to make: that when Prince William starts planning his own Coronation, he shows the decency to invite an element of the aristocrats back. It’s true that the nobility have lost influence over time. In the early years of the Queen’s reign, for example, her equerry Patrick Plunket, would tell her that the aristocracy were getting restive – and she would give a ball.

But it is a shame to risk alienating them. I even had one irritated peer (in the House of Lords) saying – ‘Just wait till the King asks for more money from Parliament…’

We had crowds of TV and sporting celebrities. Would it not have been easy enough to invite five Dukes, Marquesses etc – 25 seats for the hereditary peers? The world has changed. Ant & Dec in; the hereditary peers out for the first time in 1,000 years.

I’m not suggesting that William should invite all the peers to his Coronation when, eventually, that takes place – just a representative sample. They are, after all, a part of the way things are done. They still own large parts of England and Scotland. They understand the concept of public service in the same way as the monarchy and many of them devote their public lives to duty.
The King is there by hereditary right. So are they. And to complain that the peers of the realm are a mere relic of the past is to raise awkward questions about the monarchy itself.

[From The Daily Mail]

The fact that the aristocrats are still seething, weeks after the coronation and that the Daily Mail is reporting on it? Yeah. It’s bad. Bad for King Charles, I mean. Hilarious for everyone else. What’s especially crazy is that Charles – more than his heir – is quite close to many aristocrats, to many of the titled dukes, earls, viscounts, lords and what have you. He socializes with them and they helped facilitate and cover up his affairs for decades. These are the people who know a lot of dirt about Charles and Camilla, I’m just saying. It would be such a shame if the Duke of Fancybottom suddenly felt the urge to write a scathing takedown of the new king. It would be so devastating for the new reign if the Earl of Corgipaw wanted to make a big fuss about it. Also, this is a major threat: “to complain that the peers of the realm are a mere relic of the past is to raise awkward questions about the monarchy itself.” You think the aristocracy is out of touch with the modern world, Charles? Guess what.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

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82 Responses to “Wow, aristocrats are still seething about not getting coronation invitations”

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  1. Oh I’m here for this with my popcorn and soda. Let the games begin.

    • Bee says:

      Won’t someone think of the aristos?!?

    • ArtHistorian says:

      This is the kind of royal gossip I like. There are no innocent victims – just squabbles among hilariously entitled nitwits.

    • Ceej says:

      If ever there was a time and place for the Bethenny Frankel “mention it all” gif…

      Come on fancy rich white people. Show us your petty!

    • theRobinsons says:

      The various Dukedoms and their 1000 years of support were the ones who stopped the British peoples from destroying the BRF Monarchy over the centuries.

    • PrincessOfWaffles says:

      Im here for the show. They are team William now and will pit dad and son agaisnt each other. This comes out just a little after william said that his own coronation will be different, so I guess they’re already in his ear.

      • Kim says:

        @waffles. I think Charles did his son a favor. Charles was actually close to them.
        Now William has an opening with the aristo’s. He never seemed to care about them. Now he gets to included them.

  2. Anna says:

    “to complain that the peers of the realm are a mere relic of the past is to raise awkward questions about the monarchy itself.”

    C’mon aristos, you’re almoooooost there

    • Jais says:

      So close😂! Eh, they all know it’s a scam and they need each other to prop it up. Where is the bloody solidarity? Justice for the aristos😂

      • Robert Phillips says:

        Okay, I don’t understand any of this. Wasn’t it the King in the past that gave these nitwits their dukedoms, and earldoms? So if the King goes away don’t their made up titles go away also. I’ve always figured that’s why Charles didn’t take away H&M titles. Because it would bring to much light that its all made up.

    • MaryContrary says:

      This. Omg.

    • Scooby Gang says:

      @Anna – This is the *exact* bit that popped out for me! Well, that and Earl of Corgipaw. 😂

      • MerlinsMom1018 says:

        @Scooby Gang
        Duke of Fancybottom, yep 😆😆😆😆
        I, myself, would happily be called The Earl of Corgipaw.

    • SarahCS says:

      That and pointing out how much of the country they still own. Lets talk about that please.

  3. Pinkosaurus says:

    This gives me such joy. I was missing the stories about Lord Highbottom and Duchess Tutboater complaining about not getting to roll out their carriages and coronets. Toff-on-toff social crimes are my favorite.

    • Tacky says:

      Just picture a bunch of old, rich, white dudes sitting up front in their fancy dress robes. It would have made Charles look even more out of touch, if that is possible.

    • acha says:

      Part of me ponders that the coronation planners totally lost their way — what is a coronation for if not smooching the well-clad derrieres of the aristocracy? I mean, it’s not for the common people. It really, really, really is not.

      • Kim says:

        @acha that’s true. But the whole point of Chucks coronation is for the world to watch and love the king. He wants regular people to feel a part. That’s another reason he thought he could force Camilla down the uk throat. You are suppose to love the title/position.

        Yeah right. Lol.

  4. ThatsNotOkay says:

    Each of them probably spoke ill of Camilla at some point in the past half century, and Camilla took note and never let them live it down.

    But also, I hope this does lead to leaks galore, infighting, and the ultimate take down of the whole hereditary titled system. Charles is banking on them caring so much about titles and Houses of Lords that they’ll keep schtum. I wouldn’t be so sure….

    • acha says:

      Charles: Darling, shall we invite Lord and Lady Pearlclutching?
      Camilla: My wardrobe mistress’s dogsitter’s cousin told her that she called me a “Hoe” once. We shall not.

  5. Nubia says:

    I was just shocked that Beckham wasn’t there, he managed to land both William AND Harry wedding invites. He is the biggest Knighthood campaigner and royal a*** licker.

    • acha says:

      He stood in line for 14 hours to look at the Queen’s coffin, too, from what I hear.

  6. Becks1 says:

    You know, I actually side with the aristos here. Getting an invitation to the coronation seems like one of the perks of being an aristo, right? At least getting an invitation over Pippa Middleton.

    But this line – And to complain that the peers of the realm are a mere relic of the past is to raise awkward questions about the monarchy itself.”

    OUCH. Its true, of course – if the aristocrats are a relic of the past, what is the monarchy? If Charles can inherit his position and throw himself a big party and ceremony about it – why isolate the aristocrats like they’re anachronisms but Charles isnt?

    • Pinkosaurus says:

      The hereditary aristos should have been there instead of world leaders. Chuck just doesn’t want to remember that he’s only there by luck of birth and not by merit and election, which is why he’s not a real world leader that he fancies himself.

    • Bee says:

      The part that’s really bonkers to me is that it was clearly a terrible drag. Yet, they’re still mad they were’t there.

      They should have invited all of them and allowed tiaras. That’s how you do a coronation.

      Also the fancy hat on Charlie is still crooked.

    • JanetDR says:

      They absolutely should have been invited and gotten to wear all of their gear; robes, coronets, sashes (right shoulder doughnuts* for all!) and drive up in their great grandpa’s carriages as well!
      World Ieaders were only there for Chuck’s ego. It’s going to be a FAFO for sure. Looking forward to the fallout!
      * I said I wasn’t going to bring those up again, but I did. 🤪🤣

      • BeanieBean says:

        I still think those shoulder donuts were the modern iteration of some ancient cloak fastener, perhaps something like a penannular brooch. As they are hereditary peers, maybe we would have seen the original versions of what are now these shoulder donuts, since those cloaks are handed down along with the real estate, furniture, art, and jewelry.

      • acha says:

        Are those the equivalent of the Roman fibula pins? For when you only had one piece of cloth and you had to pin it in ways to make it useful?

      • BeanieBean says:

        @acha: similar, but the penannular brooches are all round. I first learned of these at a museum in Dublin that had lots of Viking & Celtic penannular brooches.

      • JanetDR says:

        Thank you so much for the comments! My speculation is that perhaps you pulled a cloth through the hole and knotted it to keep it in place, but none of them are shown with anything like that. Predating the brooches maybe?

    • MaryContrary says:

      I completely agree. Why not lean into all of the trappings? Since they were not included, we’re all supposed to forget that the whole system is archaic?

    • Prairiegirl says:

      This is exactly what I was talking about when I said *weeks ago* that the coronation wasn’t *for* the international audience (and got flak for it). I repeat: A coronation is for:
      1. The people of the UK (and the Commonwealth realms) whose form of government is a constitutional hereditary monarchy – so that they can bear witness to the installation of their new Head of State
      and
      2. The “noble and aristocratic classes” – so that they can engage in an ancient practice of professing fealty to the monarch which, by his/her position, upholds their own position as a favoured class. The monarchy has a symbiotic relationship with the nobility/aristocracy. It’s beyond stupid to toss over the people propping you up in favour of Katy Perry. I thought Charles studied history in university? Fat lot of good it did him!

  7. Rapunzel says:

    “I even had one irritated peer (in the House of Lords) saying – ‘Just wait till the King asks for more money from Parliament…’”

    Oooooooooo, they’re coming after the money! Chuckles is gonna need some more Fortnum and Mason bags full of cash.

  8. Misa says:

    In my country we say you can’t have the barrel full of wine and your spouse drunk… meaning in this case that you can’t go for an archaic celebration with all the pump and breeches and weird ointments, but then exclude the aristocracy. Particularly in England where the aristocracy has always been extremely powerful (the monarch was never absolute there, it’s not France or Russia). Charles acted out of spite (I wonder how many aristocrats bullied him during his miserable school years, and how many sided with Diana whose family was much older than Charles’ in terms of nobility), and it’s biting him in the behind.
    Thing is, they don’t need him: many are rich in their own right, and the others still have the clout and social power. Also, while they might have their skeletons, I doubt a single family has amassed as many as Charles’.
    He’s following Camilla down all the way to ruination.

    • Lily says:

      A lot of the aristocracy gave cover for Camilla and Charles’ affair by allowing them to attend parties and hunting weekends without their spouses.

      Her son Hugh was there but the current Duchess of Westminster lost her friendship with Diana over Charles and Camilla meeting up at Eaton Hall.

  9. girl_ninja says:

    It was very unwise not to invite the aristos. Aren’t they who run shit in that country in that particular set that he roles in? Yes, he is king and whatever but he doesn’t really have power in that set. The aristos should be glad their were spared what was a snoozefest.

  10. rawiya says:

    I wonder if the majority of them don’t like Camilla (still) and that’s why they weren’t invited? It, honestly, looks silly to invite Cams ex-husband, the Middletons, but not Duke of Blusterburbenshirefordsquiretown.

  11. Brassy Rebel says:

    The non-invited aristos should be grateful that they didn’t have to sit for hours through that snore-a-thon.

  12. aquarius64 says:

    I bet William still cozy up with the aristos; and I bet the aristos still look down on Kate because her family is three generations from the coal mines. The Middletons’ financial fail of Party Pieces and Uncle Gary’s general messiness only serves to validate their negative opinions of the family. I wouldn’t put it past Bill to push the kids to make friends with only kids from aristocratic families for atrong alliances and potential marriages, especially if a titled lady marries George.

    • Pinkosaurus says:

      William will have all the Aristocracy there because he is rose gardening with their wives. If Kate is still married to him, I doubt she’ll have a prominent role in the coronation. Maybe he’ll let her sit down long enough to get a crown slapped on her head and that’s it. Otherwise, I bet the Princess of Wales #2 is an aristocrat in her own right, after the divorce.

    • MsIam says:

      If William cared about that, then I wonder why he didn’t insist on sending the kids to an aristo school? That’s where he and Harry made all of their aristo friendships.

      • Moxylady says:

        He’s sending them to super rich people schools currently. Probably aristo schools for high school.

  13. Chantal says:

    Oh my. The whining about the inalienable right to attend the ClownFest. The continued anger of the peers – but are they incandescent with rage? That not so veiled threat about “just wait till the king asks for more money from Parliament”- well d*mn. I mean, you do have to be a special kind of stupid to p*ss off half of your govt, whilst simultaneously waging wars with unsuspecting pens and plotting petty acts of revenge against your own son and any perceived enemies.

    C-Rex should be worried bc this article specifically talks about W’s coronation (aka giving orders) so how long before the suggestions of skipping ChuckRoast in favor of W reach a fevered pitch? He might be kang but he has a lot of enemies and with the invitation snubs, apparently made a lot more.

    • Deering24 says:

      I will never understand why he (and Camilla) picked this extremely ill-advised fight. Aren’t these the people whose support is vital to the monarchy? How does snubbing them help get “revenge” for their snubbing, or whatever? And does Charles think these folks aren’t going to retaliate?

  14. HeyKay says:

    If any of these wealthy, titled people had to work they would not have time or energy to bang on about this “slight”.

  15. JaneBee says:

    Not a fan of Hugo Vickers, but he has nailed it with this article. Assuming the monarchy hasn’t already fallen apart by then, it is interesting to consider what William’s approach will be. I think we can safely bet the Rocksavages will be there 😂

  16. Lili says:

    LOL. I think its probably true that the aristo is a relic of the past, but doesnt that just mean they are more embedded than the saxe coberg’s so if there is an uprising its most likely to come from the the aristos and then where does that leave the hereditary line of succession. Elizabeth handled them to keep things stable. CR3’s house is right now in shambles but it seems they cant’t see it because the media is giving fake assurances. If Harry tkes down the Media it will leave the house of windsor exposed

  17. Whyforthelovel says:

    Oh dear I wonder how long it will take for the Fail to print a story about how much Chuck and the Mistress missed not celebrating with their beloved CA grandchildren to distract us…. Seriously though this is finally some Royal drama that is fun instead of maddening hahahahah

  18. EasternViolet says:

    I wonder had a “sampling” of aristos been invited, if they would have bowed to Camilla. I bet you they wouldn’t… and it would have been more noticed (than a one-off from Will and Kate)

    • Kim says:

      Wrote something like this a while back. Acknowledging for Camilla is really going against the church and rules. So I technically understand why Charles decided to not even attempt to see who will bow to Camilla.

  19. Digital Unicorn says:

    The aristo’s won’t forgive or forget this -esp since that the Middleton clan were there over them (remember that story about how Catty asked for additional invites and got them – I think they were for her brother and sister).

  20. Noor says:

    Charles chose Pippa and James Middleton over the Mounbattens. Silly Charles!! Pippa n James will have their day in the sun when Kate and Willy are crowned.

  21. ChattyCath says:

    I’m dying to meet the Earl of Corgipaw

  22. ML says:

    “ They are, after all, a part of the way things are done. They still own large parts of England and Scotland.” Not the aristos essentially saying that they hold KC’s purse strings to a certain extent and are threatening to withhold funds via the House of Lords. Lol!
    And, if I understood this correctly, one of the ways that KC could begin to placate them is by throwing a ball? They really, really want to dress up and exclude celebrities from the party, don’t they?

    • Becks1 says:

      They tell themselves they are above celebrity itself, better than celebrities, they’re better than actors or athletes or even a business person who made their fortune themselves.

      What is the point of being better than a celebrity if you don’t get to rub it in once in a while?

      So yes, they really want to dress up and exclude celebrities, LOL.

    • Shawna says:

      I’d love to see this red carpet! Charles is dumb not to dig down into the Englishness/UK-ness of his reign. He needs their support in reality, not world leaders, and only the British aristos can swan around glamorously to make Brits feel better about Britain. So, just to say that I think the aristos are right. It’s only consistent to “honor” the lesser hereditary nobles. If it’s not the right thing to do, then the whole system should go down.

  23. Mslove says:

    Burn it down, Chuck. The aristos are laughing at you behind your back. Your heir is plotting to dethrone you. Your wife is one of the most despised woman in England. Everyone is thumbing their nose at you, Chuck. Burn it down.

  24. Saucy&Sassy says:

    I know nothing about aristocracy, but I see their point. There are people who know very well that KFC and the Escort were still doing the tango the ENTIRE time KFC and Princess Di were married. Does anyone want that out there? I’m sure there are any number of sources that could slip a note to Tatler. If there are people who believe that only started up again when the marriage broke down, wouldn’t they be surprised?

    KFC screwed up. I hope he’s prepared for the fallout.

    • Tessa says:

      I read someplace that Charles joined a hunt club so he could go fox hunting with camilla and aristo buddies. He was not separated from Camilla. This was when Diana was having bad morning sickness with her first pregnancy. And his valet at the time wrote about Charles calls to Camilla. The aristo friends knew what was happening

  25. QuiteContrary says:

    “I am all for inclusivity and for acknowledging changing times.”

    LOL, no you’re not, Hugo.

  26. Athena says:

    They spend days in their attics looking for the family’s moth eating coronation robe just to have Charles deny them the pleasure of wearing it.

    Maybe the stench of old moth eaten robes is why they were not invited.

  27. tamsin says:

    I do wonder why Charles chose to alienate the aristocracy. The coronation would have sent a much better message if the aristocracy had been invited (perhaps without their robes) and Harry’s family, seated where the son of the king should be. That would send the message that the monarchy is at least progressing a bit while upholding its thousand year history. The whole thing just seemed to be a petulant and petty exhibition of Charles’s character: I want to be the only one wearing a purple robe and driving in a carriage. Let’s just ignore a thousand years of history where the nobles were called upon to support the monarch.

  28. PJ says:

    Haha, very telling. I also thought it was a bit weird for the royal and hereditary dukes to not be included. KCIII definitely made a shortsighted decision there. Like, how would 25 additional guests be overkill? You know William and his evil henchman, Jason Knauf, are making notes.

    All those people screeching for the Sussexes’ titles to be removed, have to remember that if Parliament does that, the rest of the aristos might be up for grabs too, so it would be a mistake to set that precedent.

  29. Laura D says:

    I can’t believe that I’m going to type this but, I do think the Aristos have a point! Having all the high ranking gentry decked in their jewels and robes would have been a much better viewing spectacle. The history associated with aristocratic families would have also brought additional gravitas to the event. For the amount of money it cost the British taxpayer, I would much rather have watched some bejewelled member of the aristocracy (whose family tree could be traced back to way back when) wandering around trying to find their seat than Katie Perry!

    • PJ says:

      Totally agree. With the expenditure and the historical significance, they should’ve had something else to gaze upon besides everyone rubbernecking to see PH. Seeing the aristocrats in their finery, pledging their allegiance would’ve been worth the watch.

  30. Lily says:

    I wanted to tiara watch. I felt robbed.

    • Christine says:

      It feels particularly shortsighted now, when all there is to talk about is the Wails being late. If Chuck had given a pageant where all the aristos could dust off their jewels, we would be debating whose tiara was our favorite.

  31. Izzy says:

    “Strongly worded parchments”. 💀😂

    • Jenna says:

      Sounds a bit like Harry Potter–do the “strongly worded parchments” arrive by owl?

  32. HK9 says:

    Celebitches get ready. These aristos know where all the bodies are buried and they are going to be a source for those hungry tabloids. Get the popcorn-this is going to be good.