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King Charles is reportedly set to give priority to the presence of charity workers over aristocrats at his upcoming coronation.
His Majesty may even scrap a lengthy section of the traditional crowning ceremony known as the “homage” – in which hereditary peers line up to honour the new royal – to give greater prominence to volunteers for good causes.
The Mail on Sunday (16.10.22) also said it understands the accommodation of charity workers at his coronation will mean peers and members of the aristocracy could be required to enter a ballot to secure a seat at the event.
It added experts who have spent years researching how the Charles' coronation will be planned are on the verge of releasing a new report setting out what the UK can expect.
Written by academics at the Constitution Unit at University College London, and based on interviews with royal insiders over several decades, the publication said the report will “reveal a fascinating insight into the arduous planning involved”.
Dr Bob Morris from UCL's Constitution Unit and author of ‘Inaugurating a New Reign: Planning for Accession and Coronation', told the Mail on Sunday: “There will inevitably be many changes in the next Coronation, not least because there has been a great change in the status of the aristocracy over the past 70 years.
“There are no longer hereditary peers being created and, save for the 90 left in the Lords, the peerage has no legislative function.
“So, it would be very difficult to see how you could justify fitting anything like the numbers of the peerage attending Westminster Abbey in 1953.
“There would have to be a ballot for a limited number from the 90 peers to attend the Coronation instead.
“The King has made it clear that he is conscious that we live in straitened times, and that the Coronation will have to reflect that.”
Charles' coronation date has been announced as May 6 2023, almost 70 years after the Queen was crowned in June, 1953.
The 73-year-old monarch is said to be aiming for a “slimmed-down” coronation compared with his late mother's.
It has been reported his ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London, will last just over an hour, have fewer rituals and be more diverse than the ceremony at which Queen Elizabeth was crowned.
The Mail on Sunday previously reported the plans for Charles' coronation are contained in a blueprint dubbed Operation Golden Orb, which apparently contains details on how he will reduce his coronation from the three hours of the late Queen's.
A source told the publication: “The King has stripped back a lot of the Coronation in recognition that the world has changed in the past 70 years.”
The publication also reported the guest list for the event will be cut from 8,000 to 2,000, with “hundreds of nobles and parliamentarians missing out”.
