On May 6, the U.K. will officially crown Charles III as king and his wife, Lady Camilla, as queen. The country hasn’t done a shindig like this since 1953, when Queen Elizabeth II was anointed, so the palace has major plans to celebrate. The day after the sacred ritual, there will be a Coronation Big Lunch, followed by a Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle. The BBC, which is broadcasting the concert, has distributed 10,000 free tickets to the public via a national ballot, which is surprisingly democratic for the monarchy. There’s just one tiny snag: If reports are to be believed, the palace is having some trouble booking the entertainment.
Earlier this month, the Daily Mail claimed Adele and Ed Sheeran were both asked to perform at the Coronation Concert and declined despite the king being “very keen” on them joining the festivities. Apparently, Sheeran will be tied up performing in Texas, while Adele declined for unspecified reasons. Sad! I bet Charles really liked her divorce album.
Also reportedly on Charles’s list: Harry Styles, Elton John, and the Spice Girls. In January, the Sun assured us that royal staffers were hard at work pulling together a Spice Girls reunion, which might or might not have been a ploy to lure Prince Harry into attending. No such luck. On Monday, reports claimed that Styles, John, and the Spice Girls had also declined offers to perform, which is probably for the best because the royal family has enough drama without Harry Styles entering the picture.
At this point, the palace may be better off gathering a horde of people on the lawns of Windsor Castle and playing its “Coronation Celebration Playlist.” I’d much rather watch 10,000 members of the British public shimmy around to “Wannabe” than sit through a coronation anyway.