Felipe VI and Letizia prepare the suitcases for the coronation of Carlos III: two events and no sign of the emeritus

Everything ready in London for the coronation of Charles III y Camilla this Saturday May 6th. The great feast of the kings covers the whole weekend, with a pre-celebration in Buckingham this Friday the 5th. The King and Queen of Spain will attend this long-awaited reception. Not so the emeritus. As stated in the official agenda, we will not see Juan Carlos I ni a doña sofia at Westminster Abbey.

The abbey will be the main setting for this solemn ceremony that has been scripted with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel under the name Operation Golden Orb. 2,000 guests will gather, including European royalty: don Felipe y Mrs. Letizia; Guillermo and Máxima from Holland; Felipe and Matilda from Belgium; Alberto de Monaco and Charlene; Carlos XVI Gustavo of Sweden and his daughter, Princess Victoria, instead of Queen Silvia; Frederick and Mary from Denmark; Haakon and Mette Marit; and from the Japanese imperial house, the crown prince Akishino and princess Kiko will travel. Presidents will also attend, such as the French Emmanuel Macron; and prime ministers from around the world. The announced absence of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, is striking. In representation, his wife, Jill Biden, is expected.

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The photo of the two kings that we will not see

Don Felipe will not coincide in Westminster with don Juan Carlos. We will not see that image of father and son sharing a bench in the abbey, together with Doña Letizia and Doña Sofía, as happened at the funeral of Isabel II in September 2022. Only heads of state attend or, failing that, their heirs, as is the case of Frederick of Denmark, who replaces Margarita; or Haakon from Norway, who travels on behalf of his parents, Harald and Sonia.

More aligned with Juan Carlos I is the former Queen Beatriz of the Netherlands, who also abdicated in her son. Neither of them will attend the enthronement because they are not heads of state. However, both coincided at Elizabeth II’s funeral, since the British Royal House issued invitations to both monarchs and emeritus.