King Charles III is set to be coronated next year
(Picture: PA Wire)Buckingham Palace said reports King Charles III’s coronation will be on June 3 next year are “pure speculation”.
Discussions over which days will be bank holidays are ongoing between the palace and Liz Truss’ government, Bloomberg said on Wednesday.
It claimed an unnamed UK official, speaking on condition of anonymity, had briefed it the coronation would be next June - most likely the third.
But a palace spokesperson said any reports on a date were nothing but “pure speculation”.
Sources said a day had not been agreed upon and the reporting should be taken “with a massive pinch of salt”.
A formal announcement is expected at some point.
World leaders from across the world are expected to attend the event at Westminster Abbey – the first coronation the nation has seen in 70 years, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last month.
Charles became King automatically upon the passing of his mother, but the coronation is typically held months later to distinguish the celebration of the new monarch from the death of the previous head of state. It also allows enough time to organise the huge event.
It has been reported that King Charles prefers a ‘slimmed-down’ coronation in recognition of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis in the UK.
But the event is still likely to entail one of the largest security and policing operations since the Queen’s state funeral in Westminster and Windsor Castle.
Last month, The Daily Mirror quoted a royal source as saying the new monarch’s coronation would be “shorter, smaller and less expensive” than the Queen’s ceremony in 1953.
The source told the paper: “The King is very aware of the struggles felt by modern Britons so will see his wishes carried through that although his coronation ceremony should stay right and true to the long held traditions of the past, it should also be representative of a monarchy in a modern world.”
A date for the ceremony has not yet been announced, but May and June 2023 are possibilities.
The paper was also told Charles had “long been an advocate of a streamlined or slimmed down monarchy” and may reduce the number of working royals.
“He has already spoken of his wish to continue his mother’s legacy and this includes continuing to recognise what the people are experiencing day by day,” the royal source added.
The move has strong public support, according to a poll commissioned by the Daily Express.
Some 65 per cent of participants backed the idea, with only seven per cent opposed.
