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King Charles III's coronation date will "definitely have raised some eyebrows" between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle following its announcement this month, a recent episode of Newsweek's The Royal Report podcast has heard.
Chief royal correspondent Jack Royston and royal commentator Kristen Meinzer discussed the Sussexes' reaction as the date of the coronation, May 6, 2023, will also mark their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor's fourth birthday.
"The coronation of Charles, now King Charles, is actually happening on the same day as Archie's birthday. Archie is turning 4 on coronation day," Meinzer said.
"I don't know if that's an accident or not. I don't feel like it is. I don't feel like any of these things are ever accidents."
To this Royston raised the palace and British government's issue of finding a date that did not clash with any major national event.
"One thing that was interesting," he said. "I saw it said that they were trying to make sure that they avoided other big dates like Eurovision [song contest] but I can see how from the public's point of view that they've now landed it on this glaring double booking."
Finding an appropriate date for the coronation will have proved a challenge for organizers, not only to avoid national events but also the unpredictable British weather.
Reports had speculated that Charles may have wished to have been crowned on the 70th anniversary of his mother's coronation, which would have been on June 2. However, this is around the time that the Trooping the Colour ceremony, as well as other royal events such as Royal Ascot, take place.
In May, Britain is set to host the grand finals of the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. The host nation would by tradition be Ukraine, which won the 2022 event. However, owing to the war with Russia, the U.K., which finished second in 2022, will stage the event.
The grand final of Eurovision 2023 will take place on May 13, 2023, one week after the coronation.
Whether Meghan and Harry will have taken offence at Charles' crowning taking place on their son's birthday will, according to Royston, depend on whether they intended to attend the ceremony.
"How much Harry and Meghan care partly depends on whether they intend to come to Britain for the coronation," he said. "But [Archie's] going to be 4 on May 6, and that is old enough to have a sense of your birthday...so it is definitely getting to the age where it is going to be meaningful for Archie.
"I think this will have definitely raised some eyebrows in Montecito, let's put it that way."
The Sussexes have not yet confirmed whether they will be attending the coronation and wider information about the guest list for the ceremony has not been released by Buckingham Palace.
The announcement of the event date was made on October 11, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II a month earlier.
"Buckingham Palace is pleased to announce that the Coronation of His Majesty The King will take place on Saturday 6th May, 2023," it read.
"The Coronation Ceremony will take place at Westminster Abbey, London, and will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Ceremony will see His Majesty King Charles III crowned alongside The Queen Consort.
"The Coronation will reflect the monarch's role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry. Further details will be announced in due course."
This is not the first time that one of Harry and Meghan's children has shared a birthday with a major royal event.
In 2022 the couple's daughter, Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor, spent her first birthday in Britain as the royals celebrated Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.
The day of Lilibet's birthday, June 4, was shared with the jubilee Epsom Derby horseracing event and the Platinum Party at the Palace pop concert in London. The Sussexes are reported to have held an intimate party for their daughter at Frogmore Cottage, their home in Windsor Great Park.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more