There are three weeks left before the coronation of King Charles of England and Queen Camilla but the preparations are experiencing long delays due to a series of organizational problems .
This was revealed by the Mirror tabloid on its front page, which even speaks of "chaos" around the solemn ceremony scheduled for May 6 in Westminster Abbey.
Among the reasons for the delays, the rebel prince Harry, who emigrated to the USA with his wife Meghan after the traumatic 2020 tear from the Windsors. King Charles ' second son only dissolved the reserve today and confirmed his presence , however specifying that his wife will not be there .
The so late response, again according to the tabloid, had a direct impact on the complex arrangement of seats in the ceremony, which has not yet been completed. But there are also discussions on the route of the procession, with the proposal to reduce it for cost reasons. There are also doubts about the ceremonial to be followed inside the abbey: it is not yet clear whether women should put on their tiaras before the queen enters.
And there are fears regarding Charles III , who could be stumbled live and in front of millions of viewers by the cumbersome robes expected for the sovereign in the coronation. To avoid any inconvenience , the royals frequently practice at the Palace in a purpose-built structure resembling Westminster Abbey.
On all this, new indiscretions rained down on the deceased Queen Elizabeth and on the way in which she would have resolved, at the end of 2001 , the dilemma in the Windsor house as to who, between William and Harry, then adolescent sons of Charles and Diana, would have been expendable on the front line of the war mission in Afghanistan among the soldiers of the British contingent deployed alongside the allies in the bloody campaign that in those months was starting against the Taliban after the terrorist attack on the USA on 11 September.
Revealing the background today is the old retired general Sir Mike Jackson, at that time commander of His Majesty's army, interviewed among the prominent witnesses of a new documentary signed by ITV entitled "The Real Crown". The real novelty contained in Jackson's words is that Queen Elizabeth II initially expressed her intention to prepare both grandchildren to leave for Kabul.
They grew up "at my expense, so they have to do their duty", the inflexible sovereign-grandmother, daughter of George VI and the Second World War, cut short at first. Unless, however, to review and correct this indication after the usual consultations with the high commands, the heads of the MI6 secret services, the supreme court officials.
And be convinced that William had to be protected from the danger of falling under enemy fire ; unlike the younger Harry, considered a sufficiently important figure from a symbolic point of view to ensure a direct presence of the Royal Family but evidently also more expendable, in the worst case scenario, in terms of a potential vulnus to the continuity of the dynasty.
“It was finally decided that for William, heir to the throne, the risk was too great; while for his younger brother it was acceptable», Sir Mike's explanation. Words intended to twist the knife between the wounds of Harry's soul: always proud of the two missions valiantly carried out in the uniform of a helicopter pilot on Afghan soil since 2007 and then since 2012; but also uncomfortable with that label of reserve prince, if not spare tire of the royal family. “Spare”, precisely, as the title of the recent bestselling autobiography.
(Unioneonline/D)
