Monday, May 6th, was the one-year anniversary of King Charles’s coronation. It was a subdued affair – there were various articles about the coronation and the state of Charles’s health, and it’s clear that the shenanigans of the day are still being rewritten. Like, no one bothered to mention how Prince Harry’s quick appearance and even faster exit captured a lot of the coronation coverage domestically and internationally. Nor was there much focus on how badly Prince William and Kate f–ked up that morning. They arrived very late to Westminster Abbey, they made the king and queen wait in their carriage, and Charles was on camera, looking absolutely furious because his heir was screwing up his big day. Even worse, we soon found out why the Waleses were so late – it was because they were shooting a video for their social media, and sources claimed that the children were to “blame” for the lateness too. That was the extremely stupid reason why they f–ked up the coronation procession. Interestingly enough, People Magazine pulled an excerpt from Robert Hardman’s recent book about this moment:
Kate Middleton and Prince William were late to King Charles’ coronation on May 6, 2023, complicating logistics before history was written. In his book The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, royal biographer Robert Hardman writes that King Charles and Queen Camilla inadvertently arrived early for their crowning at Westminster Abbey. The royal couple reportedly got there before pages like Prince George — and there was another snag in the schedule.
“Unbeknown to them, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their two younger children are running a minute and a half late. The Waleses are supposed to be there eight minutes ahead of the King and Queen. Yet they will now arrive after them,” Hardman writes in The Making of a King, published on Thursday.
“Although the congregation inside the abbey don’t know it, there is an awkward scene unfolding outside as the King and Queen are in their coach. It is an added layer of stress that the couple really do not want or need on a day like this,” he writes. Recapping a lipreader’s translation of what King Charles said footage caught on a Sky News camera, Hardman writes that the monarch said, ” ’We can never be on time…There’s always something…This is boring.’ ”
“As with his irksome pen in the days after his mother’s death, it’s a snapshot of a man under extreme pressure in the full gaze of the world’s media,” the biographer writes in The Making of a King.
The author adds that sources have different conclusions on the root of the snafu. Some say that Prince William and Princess Kate’s decision to make a coronation video added “precious seconds” to their schedule while staff for William and Kate speculate that because the King reached the abbey early, the Wales’ car got caught behind his cavalcade when it should have been ahead.
“It is unusual for the two most important arrivals at such a significant event, and over such a well-trodden route, to be so unpunctual. The result is some frantic rewriting of the running order,” Hardman writes of the entrance Prince and Princess of Wales made with Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. “There isn’t time for the Waleses and their two younger children to enter ahead of the King and Queen. They must now follow behind and bring up the rear.”
It really is fascinating to think about how it actually unfolded, as Charles realized that his heir was too incompetent and lazy to even make it to the Abbey on time for the CORONATION. This wasn’t some random memorial or a Commonwealth Day service or something like that. This was his father’s coronation and William was too busy filming a fan-cam for his own social media. It’s insane. Another reminder: Charles basically forced William to take a place on the coronation committee and William didn’t do jacksh-t, and the whole thing was organized by other people while William blew it off.
Charles looks like he's pissed off? I know he's probably practicing his speech but still pic.twitter.com/oZx06uotVD
— celebitchy (@celebitchy) May 6, 2023
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William and Kate Middleton. Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton. Coronation of King Charles III, May 6th 2023. King Charles III and Camilla the Queen Consort, members of the Royal family and VVIP’s arrive at Westminster Abbey for the Coronation service,Image: 774185156, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Unknown / Avalon
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- Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton. Coronation of King Charles III, May 6th 2023. King Charles III and Camilla the Queen Consort, members of the Royal family and VVIP’s arrive at Westminster Abbey for the Coronation service.,Image: 774185241, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Unknown / Avalon
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- Prince of Wales, Prince William Coronation of King Charles III, May 6th 2023. King Charles III and Camilla the Queen Consort, members of the Royal family and VVIP’s arrive at Westminster Abbey for the Coronation service.,Image: 774185348, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Unknown / Avalon
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- Coronation of King Charles III 6th May 2023 King Charles III pictured arriving with Camilla the Queen Consort for the coronation service at Westminster Abbey. Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. 06-05-23,Image: 774194383, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Dan Charity / Avalon
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- Coronation of King Charles III 6th May 2023 King Charles III pictured arriving with Camilla the Queen Consort for the coronation service at Westminster Abbey. 06-05-23,Image: 774194451, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Dan Charity / Avalon
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- Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte arrive at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom, on 06 May 2023.,Image: 774198658, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Phil Harris / Avalon
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 06: Prince William, Prince of Wales departs from the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on May 06, 2023 in London, England. The Coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the other Commonwealth realms takes place at Westminster Abbey today. Charles acceded to the throne on 8 September 2022, upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II.,Image: 774214323, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Heathcote / Avalon
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- King Charles III wearing the St Edward’s Crown and Queen Camilla wearing the Queen Mary’s Crown during their coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey, London. Featuring: Queen Camilla and King Charles III Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince Edward, The Prince of Wales kisses his father King Charles III during his coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey, London. Featuring: Prince Edward and King Charles III Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The British Royal family make an appearence on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Coronation Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 May 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- The British Royal family make an appearence on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Coronation Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince Louis Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 May 2023 Credit: Cover Images
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- Prince William of Wales and Catherine Princess of Wales during appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the flypast after the procession and the coronation of the new King and Queen at Westminster Abbey in London, UK. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 May 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
Gee, do you suppose somebody who planned this out could have coordinated the cavalcades so that people arrived in order?
this. charles was in that coach trotting around for 30+ minutes. when the wales left late, there should have been a radio call to the timing point man to slow the carriage down. to make the 30 min carriage ride into 35 min would have been unnoticeable to anyone except maaaaaybe charles if he was paying that close attention. They should have taken notes from the RAF on how to conduct a fly over, basically the same mechanics at much lower speeds which means a lot easier to fix in the moment
This would have been an excellent solution and I’m surprised it wasn’t done, considering the British have military precision down to the T.
I mean, Chuck and Cam were in a damn CARRIAGE, and they beat the Wails to the Abbey. You can’t make up this level of incompetence!
What? I thought Chuckles and his heir were so close? I love that this happened because it truly shows just what a clown show this monarchy has become. The heir making the King wait because he is filming for his social media and then blaming his own children for being late. My god Peg is just useless.
He was doing an Only Fans cameo for his 2 fans.
😂😂😂. Are we even sure he has two?
@Susan Collins, yes, his mirror, and Rebecca English. 😁
My recollection was that the Wales released their video on IG and there wasn’t much interest in it, nor it did include any substantial content.
The very fact that there is a video of them getting ready and leaving their house is evidence that the video is the reason they were late. Of course, they blame the kids, which is gross, but no it was the video and the fact that they couldn’t plan ahead to make sure they can get everyone ready while also making a propaganda video for themselves.
No, it was a stupid video. It could have been more interesting – actual behind the scenes footage of the preparation – but IIRC it was mostly Charlotte and George (or louis) looking out the window and Kate walking into the room a few times before it shows them all leaving and getting into the car. It was pointless.
And someone on Twitter/X set that video to the theme of “Succession” and it was hilarious.😆
Also the day wasn’t about them but Charles. Doing a video of them getting ready was just arrogance.
I was just coming here to say that! The video itself was very short and basic, another SM flop for these two that was just as boring as that weirdo marriage anniversary video from a few years ago. The other European heirs (Haakon/Fred/Victoria) would have at least had the good sense to put out a high quality behind the scenes video. William is such a flop!!! It’s wild to me!
I think I remember that! Spitting Image UK did a Succession royal skit as well 😉
https://youtu.be/cbaJ2h6cuTc?si=WnlG8GexPmw7wzfg
OMG Tarte!!! That is HYSTERICAL!! Thanks for posting!
@Tarte thanks for the hilariously enjoyable link. Anyone else think it’s eerie that the Queen was in a coma and CRex was yammering on about his jam? Feels like someone at Spitting Image was prescient.
Tarte, never saw that. Too funny, thanks for posting!
It’s not just ONE video. During the Coronation events, they released multiple short videos, all emphasized on Wank, not the new King & Queen or the events.
The “succession” cut of the video was hilarious.
Maybe he thought he could Zoom it from home like he’s pushing for?
😀
“Like, no one bothered to mention how Prince Harry’s quick appearance and even faster exit captured a lot of the coronation coverage domestically and internationally”
Just a quick glance at the Fail today made me think it was Harry’s coronation today. They are covering his visit wall to wall with live feeds and such. Must be because he is irrelevant and noone cares about him.
The kids story was widely dismissed at the time esp when their little video was dropped – to me it seemed that the video was last min, William looked fuming in it and Kate looked like she was in her glory flouncing in and out of empty rooms in her robes.
Lets not forget that the Wails have a long history of being late – esp Kate. William can arrive on time on his own. I remember the spate of drive by engagements from Kate – she’d turn up very late and then hang around for 15mins and leave.
They made the queen wait for an Easter service without any kids there. Considering they always have police clear the roads, especially for events like this, it makes no sense for them to be late outside of just not caring.
Let’s not forget when she made the Queen of Denmark wait for her. No kids were there, no social media videos. Just Kate being rude and acting like her time is more important than anyone else’s.
I actually love how Charles handled this, making them walk in behind him when that clearly wasn’t was in the program. People might not have known what was going on at the time, but now everyone knows that the Waleses were late.
And I don’t buy that they were out of order because Charles was early. I cannot believe that staff was not coordinating between the palaces and that someone from the coronation committee wasn’t with the Waleses – they knew Charles had left. Even if he was a few minutes early, the Waleses still should have been there.
Also most people are applying normie standards of getting somewhere. But these two have police escorts to stop all traffic from getting in their way, plus the area around the abbey was barricaded that day specifically for people in the ceremony. And when everyone else managed to make it there before the king, it was glaringly obvious just how late W and K were.
And that is not including the staff who I am sure had the timing schedule
The book said Charles got there before the pages but we didn’t notice that because the pages got there near enough that it didn’t interrupt the procession.
Gotta say, makes my adhd ass feel a little better about my occasional lateness. If I don’t go into Waiting Mode for hours before events, it can get cut pretty close. I don’t have a full staff to help me or do the distracting kids stuff though. And there’s no cameras recording me strolling into church late 😂
And Kate looked so pleased with herself that day,lol I love the fact that she had to wear a faux tiara.
Of course she was. There was no Meghan to pull the focus from her & she had her crush, Harry all to herself.
Let the king vs liege man for life, battle royale commence! Can’t wait for the day when these two really start going after each other. I want Chuckles vs Lazy Bill Middleton gossip and innuendo. I want BP vs KP leaking against each other. I want the Leftover Royals House of Windsor divided until it cannot stand. Let the implosions begin.
William’s level of ‘DGAF just give me the money’ is reaching true infamy. He has a serious personality disorder issue.
Kate has always been late for everything. These two are such a great pair: lazy, entitled, self involved and liars.
It is insane right?? Like, his “job” is to do the bare minimum. He doesn’t need to produce anything of value, he is never at risk, his family will always be fed and sheltered, he never has to worry….the ONLY thing he has to do is show up to fun events on occasion and smile and wave….and he can’t even do that. The fact that Kate can’t even do that is also sooooooo bizarre! If I were to marry into a royal life, I would pull a Megan and be so excited to do lots of projects, to travel the world and do good. I don’t understand how Kate chased this man for 10 years and somehow never mustered up any enthusiasm for the job, such as it is. Even William! One would think he would want to capture some of his mother’s star power and be that “global statesman” and now he is just serving IDGAF 24/7.
The thing is, they could have been looking at who Charles and William actually are and doing a PR rollout for there being a new kind of king. But what royalty must be is what George VI and then QEII were. So the new king and the king after that are being set up to be total failures. Doesn’t help that they are garbage human beings, but there could have been some thinking about this. Philip rebranded the monarchy, but with little thought that the others who came after Liz might not fit the mold.
You are so right Concern Fae. Any PR person worth their weight could have started to prep Charles and William for this a decade ago. “New Modern Monarchy!” But instead they just flopped it
I didn’t watch it live but I have seen clips of it and photos, it looked like it was boring as hell. Even all the stolen jewels in the world can’t make this monarchy sparkle ✨..
A lot of satanic imagery in it too. Quite apt.
Even the grim reaper showed up.
They didn’t even have the decency to SHOW all the stolen jewels! It should have been wall to wall tiaras and coronets that day, I’m still offended!
Everything Cam touches dies!
😂
The Wales don’t have respect for Chuck and even the late Queen. You can be sure they won’t bother to respect taxpayers. Oh well.
Charles should have kept to his schedule, gone in and then locked the doors. Allowing Will to delay the entire coronation gives him power.
Oh, what I wouldn’t have given to see the doors slammed in their faces, like Caroline of Brunswick at George IV’s Coronation. Can’t you just imagine William stamping his feet and shouting, “this should be MY day anyway!” while Kate pounded on the doors and sobbed, “but I bought this tiara at Clairrrrre’s!”
Omg Miranda I can’t stop laughing at this 🤣😂🤣😂🤣
priceless
The derangers are blaming Charles for arriving early
Oh yeah, totally his fault ‘cause Charles is only, like you know, the actual king!
Deranger is the right name for people like that, they need their head examined…
WanK had the nerve to blame their own children for their lateness, they weren’t fooling anyone.
They are giving serious DARVO energy here. Blaming the KING for arriving early for his own coronation. If this sh*t had happened 500 years ago, methinks Willy would be in the tower….
“If this sh*t had happened 500 years ago, methinks Willy would be in the tower…. ”
Perhaps that’s where Kate has been all this time.
I wish C&C had just entered the Abbey when they arrived, and then WanK would have arrived after them and looked like the total idiots they are. They couldn’t very well parade in afterwards and would have been stuck. That’d teach them
Or just locked the doors. And the other ales would have to wait outside until intermission. Which I doubt there is one so they would have just had to miss it. Oh well.
The Wales* not the other ales😂
Lock ‘em out with Rose already seated in there and Kate stranded in her Disney villian robes. I would have LMFAO.
Are we sure he didn’t say “William can never be on time…there is always something… He is boring.”?
^^ LOL! 😂 IKR! 😜
So, now it was Charles’ fault for getting to the church early? I don’t think so.
Right? The whole ass KING is never early, nor late. His arrival is always on time. Lol
Exactly, the King decides what time it is. Everybody else has to get there early.
These things are timed with military precision and IIRC it was suggested that he left BP either a little early or late, can’t remember the commentary. Doesn’t matter really as they should have made the effort to be there on time – it always struck me as odd that they came direct from KP rather than from BP with everyone else. I guess the didn’t want Chuck and his staff telling them what to do!!!!
The shots of Kate when she finally arrived said it all – she looked very pleased with herself as I think she thought they’d get shunted to the front with Chuck and Cams but they go stuck way back and were the shoved into their seats while everyone else was taking their positions. The disrespect to the new King and Queen from these 2 was on full display – they did not care who saw it.
It’s interesting the DM didn’t publish this excerpt when they were promoting Hardman’s book.
When it comes to Peggy, as soon as he was given duchy (public) funds of his own he was done caring about appeasing his father. The purse strings were the only control they had over him and that is gone. Now he works when Prince Harry makes headlines and that’s it.
There’s no excuse for their lateness – it’s not like there was traffic. And you know that if TOB ever has his own coronation and an adult George was late? He’d be openly screaming and raging. This is a man who made “wrap it up” gestures to his wife when she dared to talk to someone for a few seconds longer than him in a receiving line. Not exactly a patient man.
I mean, just imagine, just for a second, if Harry and Meghan (if they’d both been at the coronation) were the ones who made the king wait. THE HORROR! THE STORIES! But it’s just Pegs, the incompetent heir, so it’s just a shrug and “blame the kids” and Nothing To Be Done.
So, People mag decided to publish this on the day Harry is attending the IG service? Hmmm.
I recently tried to rewatch the coronation, there’s a part I missed, but couldn’t find it anywhere, it wasn’t on any of my streaming services. I could easily find the late queens documentary about her coronation but no one’s bothering to put Chuck’s coronation up for viewing, which I find quite funny 😆
BBC gave the palace rights to edit the video. Some things shown live were edited out by BP.
Yes, I know that but what I’m saying is there’s no video/show/anything showing the actual coronation, as though a year on no one cares.
C&C thought that they were the draw. With the aristocracy kept on the outside and no tiaras I don’t think they understand how the hierarchy they are the head of works. No one needs to see that coronation twice. If Charles had a traditional situation with the various titled people attending it would have given him more eyeballs. Local participants would have taken their family’s historic garments and jewellery out for an airing and a whole ecosystem of enforced public celebration would have occurred. Articles that talked about various families getting ready would have kept up interest. The areas connected to the family in the stately likely would had a fête or street party funded in part by the local family themselves based on seeing their area’s guest at the event. The media would have been all over that. There would have been people at those public video screens, maybe not masses of people but there would have been more participants in the public.
No historians and hobbyist history buffs will need to research and rewind to see who wore what. C&C went on American Idol rather than shoring up their own reign in their own kingdom, that’s how much H&M leaving and Camilla and Charles’ penchant for grudges made them ruin their own coronation.
Great comment, @Interested Gawker! Charles and Cam missed the point exactly. If millions of tax player money HAD to be spent on this (which I personally don’t agree with, (I’m for a republic here in the UK) then at least put on a spectacle that would be widely watched and remembered! People would have been out in their droves, pubs would have put on Coronation specials, villages, towns and cities would have had mass screening events. Us Brits love a good get together, even if we aren’t that interested in what it for!
OR Charles could have gone totally modern, and had a Love In, and had the coronation chair in a tent, at Buck House, and invited,say, 500 hundred Brits, who had REALLY made a difference in this country, like Marcus Rashford (free school meals campaign for children who have nothing during the school holidays) for example. A communal meal afterwards, eg simple Shepherds Pie and Rhubarb Crumble, and then donate all the money saved to causes that really make a difference to people struggling with poverty.
But instead it was an expensive flop, boring, dull, and mind numbingly “meh”.
This kind of makes me smile because it is oh so familiar. But then again it doesn’t. My partner is late to everything; it can be something insignificant, and it can be for something huge – like all my pregnancy scans. Upset me massively, and annoyed the staff, who had to put back their whole schedule. It is a huge issue between us. So, yes, I remember how pissed off Charles was and I don’t blame him. It’s a matter of courtesy and duty.
Why did Invisible KKKate dressed Charlotte like a character in The Handmaid’s Tale?
According to the official Con-a-nation Program, the Wails arrived very late. Charles & his companion arrived only one minute or two earlier than scheduled time, it’s not as those RR & WanK appologizers stated “too early”. There were live broadcasts & people have eyes. It did not support KC3 arrived TOO early (If the Wails followed schedule timeline). Also the live feed showed the Wails car rushing through very open, empty roads, what was this “got caught behind his cavalcade” nonsense? Totally 🐃💩. WanK should’ve just apologized for being late, but no, instead they proudly put out a professional made mini-video (that wouldn’t win any awards & many TikTokers did it better). *face-palm*
Remember how Huevo had to read his part from cards? Not only was he late and did f all to plan the event, he couldn’t even memorize what little bit he had to say. Tell me you don’t want the job without telling me you don’t want the job.
Seriously. How much do you think he sits and wrings his hands and pounds his fists every day, lamenting how he didn’t ask for this and doesn’t want to be king? I bet it is a big source of his anger and he just never learned to deal with it, cause feelings don’t exist in that family.
I’m sure everyone will be just devastated if you … You know. Turn the job down.
Yes, as someone who has watched royal processions for a while (and deals with liturgical processions), the Wales’ arrival was shocking.
It’s not like the Brits don’t know how to plan this down to the second. I think one or both of the Waleses was FA with filming. As has been said, the roads had been cleared.
Kate seems to have some history with this. I think she just does not GAF about anyone else and nobody has been able to tell her to pull her socks up.
William was looking quite angry while they were waiting to enter the abbey and he barely looked at Kate. I suspect she was the one who made them late.
And of course the original plan was to have those two enter before Camilla and Charles, but they arrived too late for that.
Something massive had gone down Coronation morning and/or the night before that caused their ‘lateness’. Possibly involving KM in a me-no-go situation.
KM looked awful, but Carol M looked absolutely horrendous – like she’d been crying all night.
Don’t believe the ridiculous nonsense that filming a video caused the delay.
If W&K’s lateness was caused by them making a video, or anything similar, then I’m the Queen of Sheba.
I just took time from my busy day to watch the real KP video that they made. What a train wreck. They didn’t even show WSW reading his cards. It’s just hi voice. The prancing around and general cinematography are child like.
Stop blaming the kids!! They have a team of people to help them get out the door. Also they are kids. You are the responsible adults for the children. You get them out the door on a day like this. Don’t leave it to three children under 12 to get ready by themselves!!