King Charles' coronation ceremony could be 'invalidated' due to his affair, one royal author has said.
Back in 1992, King Charles - who was then the Prince of Wales - split up with his wife Princess Diana. A biography endorsed by Charles also said that by 1986 he and Camilla, who he went on to marry in 2005, were already having an affair.
According to The Mirror, just two years later, in 1994, Charles admitted he had been unfaithful to Diana, the mother of his two children, William and Harry.
During filming for a documentary about his life, Charles was asked if he remained true to Diana. He replied: “Yes, yes… until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried."
Royal biographer Anthony Holden has now said that Charles admitting to adultery could spark a "constitutional crisis".
He wrote in the Guardian: "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.
"The late Robert Runcie [the former Archbishop of Canterbury] told me this would require a revision of the coronation oath, which would require a new statute of Parliament.
"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."
However, other experts have since cast doubt over the claims.
Sir Vernon Bogdanor, a research professor at King's College London's Centre for British Politics and Government, told 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."
Barrister Geoffrey Robertson KC added: "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' coronation ceremony is due to take place on Saturday, May 6, and Camilla will also be crowned Queen Consort.
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