[imagesource: Arthur Edwards/The Sun/PA Archive]

King Charles III’s coronation has officially been penned in for May 6, 2023.

Ahead of this historic crowning event, a few awkward considerations have popped up, revolving around baby Archie as well as “painful memories of the colonial past”.

Regarding the first of those considerations, the coronation has been set on the exact same date as Charles’ grandson, Archie’s fourth birthday.

The Royal Family confirmed this yesterday while saying very little else and raising a few eyebrows:

The Coronation of His Majesty The King will take place on Saturday 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey.

The Ceremony will see His Majesty King Charles III crowned alongside The Queen Consort.

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) October 11, 2022

However, per Cosmopolitan, royal author and expert Katie Nicholl doesn’t think this was done on purpose:

“Well, having the coronation on Archie’s birthday is definitely not a snub,” Nicholl [said].

“I think it’s very much a happy coincidence. Obviously, a huge amount of planning has to go into an important moment in history, such as a coronation, and the royal calendar is full of anniversaries and birthdays, so I think this is absolutely one of those occasions where it’s a coincidence and hopefully a happy coincidence.”

The official details on the guest list are still sketchy, so we’ll have to see if Archie’s ma and pa, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, turn up.

Apparently, they have been invited.

The other awkward situation has to do with the crown jewels that Queen Camilla is expected to wear on the big day, reported The Telegraph:

Buckingham Palace is reconsidering plans for the Queen Consort to be crowned using the controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond, with India’s ruling party warning that the move would bring back “painful memories of the colonial past”.

The Queen Mother wore the crown on the Buckingham Palace balcony following the coronation of George VI in 1937:

Image: PA

The royal team is trying to shuffle things around in order to “consider current sensitivities, wanting a coronation reflecting modern times as well as tradition”.

Whether that means Queen Camilla would wear a new design, something else entirely, or have the disputed diamond removed remains to be seen.

Image: Tim Graham Photo Library/via Getty Images

The fight over the jewel goes back a long way and stretches beyond India’s borders:

The thousand-year-old, 105.6 carat diamond is the subject of international dispute, with India, Afghanistan and Iran among the countries laying claim to it.

The Royal Collection Trust describes it as being “surrendered” to Queen Victoria “by the Maharaja Duleep Singh in 1849” as part of the Treaty of Lahore, when the Maharaja was aged 11.

It was later presented to Queen Victoria by the East India Company and eventually used for a succession of coronation crowns for the women of the Royal family.

With all of these issues piling up, royal enthusiasts must be holding thumbs that King Charles won’t need to sign anything with one of his wretched pens.

[sources:telegraph&cosmopolitan]