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Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Katie Weston & Nicola Croal

William and Kate's mysterious late arrival at Coronation finally explained

Millions of people tuned it to watch the live arrival of King Charles and Queen Camilla at their royal Coronation on Saturday.

However, as the monarchs arrived in their carriage at Westminster Abbey, fans were left puzzled by the absence of William and Kate. Buckingham Palace's official order of service showed they were supposed to be there before the King and be seated before Charles and Camilla, the Mirror reports.

Events seemingly did not go to plan as the Prince and Princess of Wales arrived late along with their children Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, after His Majesty arrived.

King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived before Kate and William which was not a part of the plan (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Prince George was already there and had joined seven other pages of honour who helped his grandfather in the procession.

The order of service stated: "Their Royal Highnesses The Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Louis of Wales arrive at the Great West Door and are conducted to their seats in the Lantern. All remain seated.

Prince William and Kate arrived late to the Coronation with their children Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte (Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)

"Their Majesties The King and The Queen arrive at the West Gate. A fanfare is sounded. All stand."

However, William and Kate could be seen standing behind the monarch and only taking their seats as he was already entering the church.

The blunder also meant that the camera panned in to capture the newly-crowned King and Queen waiting rather awkwardly in their carriage for five minutes.

Royal biographer Omid Scobie who co-wrote Finding Freedom suspects the delay might have been down to the Wales' children.

He wrote in Harper's Bazaar: "The room for error was nil. And thankfully, due to the weeks of rehearsals that the royals took part in ahead of the coronation, the day went ahead smoothly.

A royal expert suspects that the Prince and Princess of Wales' children held them up the day (AP)

"In fact, apart from Prince William and Princess Kate joining the procession late (children were to blame, a source tells me), and Camilla’s ladies in attendance - sister Annabel Elliot, and queen’s companion the Marchioness of Lansdowne - accidentally creating an unfortunate wedgie moment out of her silk Bruce Oldfield dress on the way into the Abbey, very few hitches took place."

Eagle eyed royals fans also spotted the timing mistake and took to social media to question what may have caused it to happen.

One remarked: "Prince William, Kate, and their 2 younger children were supposed to have arrived 5 minutes ahead of him, but instead they were a minute late; so he couldn't get out of the carriage until Prince William and Kate enter the building."

Another wrote: "Commentators said that William & Kate were late and Charles was not pleased."

A third joked: "Best laid plans lol William & Kate are late !! #MercuryRetrograde."

Prince Louis participated with his older siblings and mum and dad in the Big Help Out yesterday (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The weekend of Coronation celebrations has now come to an end with royals, faith leaders and politicians all taking part in the post-Coronation Big Help Out drive.

Millions of people across the UK were due to take part in volunteering events yesterday. The scheme was organised by The Together Coalition and partners such as The Scouts, the Royal Voluntary Service and faith groups from across the United Kingdom.

Around 55,123 events were due to take place, created by 33,228 grassroots and community organisations. Activists and faith communities played a key part as events involving Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Sikh and other groups took place across the country.

William and Kate and their three children along with the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal were among those who took part on the day.

Other significant participants include Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

During a "family volunteering day out", George, nine, Charlotte, eight and Louis, five helped to renovate a Scout hut in Slough, Berkshire while their parents William and Kate kept an eye over them.

Louis joined in on the work with his siblings and parents by shovelling dirt, pushing wheelbarrows and operating a digger.

Edward and Sophie helped out at a puppy class for trainee Guide Dogs in Reading while Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence attended a County Civic Service recognising local volunteers in Gloucester Cathedral.

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