Why King Charles III arrived late to his coronation
The reason why King Charles III was late to his own coronation has been revealed, with a military source attributing His Majesty’s tardiness to horse troubles.
Six Windsor Greys were carefully selected to pull the Diamond Jubilee State Coach to transport King Charles, 74, and Queen Camilla, 75, from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey on May 6.
Their names are Echo, Haven, Knightsbridge, Milford, Shadow and Tyrone.
The source told The Telegraph in the UK that the dress rehearsal for the journey took place in the middle of the night when the horses were "quite sleepy and took their time.”
"But on the day of the Coronation, they were wide awake and consequently went a lot faster than they had in the practice. That's what threw the timings out," they continued.
As the royals arrived at the Abbey, viewers saw a visibly irritated Charles demanding an explanation.
Initially, the delay was blamed on the Prince and Princess of Wales who were scheduled to arrive at Westminster Abbey before the monarch but rather arrived a few minutes after.
A lip reader told The Guardian that the King muttered, "we can never be on time" and "there's always something”.
The Prince and Princess of Wales arrived with their children Princess Charlotte, eight and Prince Louis, five.
They were left to join the back of the procession to the altar of the abbey.
There had been suggestions they were delayed by filming behind-the-scenes footage of their preparations, which was later posted on social media, but that is allegedly false.
Prince George, nine, acted as Page of Honour for his grandfather at the coronation and performed his duties diligently.
King Charles, Prince William and Prince George later posed for a “line of succession” portrait.
Prince Harry was spotted at the ceremony, taking his seat in the third row with his cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
His visit was short-lived as he flew home to the US for his son Archie’s fourth birthday later that day.
Image credit: Getty