Shocking royal snubs from Coronation guest list – King Charles’ goddaughter to stunned Duke… but Camilla’s ex is invited
WITH King Charles' plans to 'slim down' his guest list for the upcoming Coronation, there were always going to be some notable people who didn't make the cut.
But it came as a surprise to some royal fans this week when it was revealed Queen Consort Camilla's ex-husband is among the 2,000 invitees.
Andrew Parker Bowles will be "front and centre" of the congregation to watch his first wife be crowned next to King Charles, reports.
The former couple, who share son Tom Parker Bowles and daughter Laura Lopes - also invited to the Coronation along with their children - are said to have remained close friends since their divorce in 1995.
But other notable exes, former family members and high profile figures have not received an invitation.
Unlike the Queen's Coronation in 1953, which had 8,251 people in attendance, Charles has reportedly shrunk his guest list to around 2,000.
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Here reveal the most shocking snubs from the Coronation cull - including the man who's organising it.
Lady Pamela Hicks
Having attended two previous coronations and the late Queen's funeral, it was widely expected that Lady Pamela Hicks would receive an invitation.
She is one of only two surviving bridesmaids from the Queen and Prince Philip's wedding in 1947, and her father, Lord Mountbatten, was Philip's uncle and known as Charles' 'honorary grandfather'.
Mountbatten - who was killed by an IRA bomb in August 1979 - and Charles famously shared a deep bond, almost akin to that of father and son.
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On her 94th birthday last week, Lady Pamela received a call from Buckingham Palace informing her she had not been invited to the Coronation.
Her daughter India wrote on Instagram how The King sent his "great love and apologies" that he was "offending many family and friends with the reduced [guest] list".
She added that her mother was "not offended at all" and called the decision to base invitations on "meritocracy" not aristocracy "very, very sensible".
India Hicks
Given India is King Charles' goddaughter and second cousin, it is also somewhat surprising she too has been left off the guest list.
The British designer and mother-of-five, 55, was a bridesmaid when Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.
India, who lives in the Bahamas, also recently undertook a bicycle ride from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle to raise money for the monarch's charity, The Prince's Trust.
She attended the Queen's funeral in September, and said it was a "privilege".
Sarah Ferguson
Given she was recently welcomed back into the royal fold to spend Christmas at Sandringham for the first time in 30 years, it came as a shock when Fergie was snubbed from the guest list.
The Duchess of York, 63, was once Charles' sister-in-law after marrying his brother Prince Andrew, and has known him since childhood.
Sarah and Andrew’s daughters, princesses Eugenie, 33, and Beatrice, 34, are expected to be at the Westminster Abbey ceremony on May 6.
Disgraced Andrew will attend the Coronation but is not expected to have a formal role.
Royal author Phil Dampier told The Sun: “I’m sure Fergie will be disappointed but she has had many years of ups and downs in her relationship with the Royal Family, and I’m sure she will accept it.
“The Queen had a soft spot for Fergie and Charles was generous in inviting her to Christmas. But on a formal occasion he probably feels a line has to be drawn."
Fergie will, however, be a “VIP attendee” at the Windsor Castle Concert the following day.
Harry and Meghan's kids
While Prince Harry, 38, will fly to the UK to watch his father be crowned, his wife Meghan Markle, 41, will stay at home in California with their children Archie and Lilibet.
The Duchess of Sussex insisted this week her decision to miss Charles‘ big day had nothing to do with “unconscious bias” within the monarchy.
It is it understood that the couple's invitation from Buckingham Palace did not mention Archie, who turns four on May 6, or one-year-old Lilibet.
A royal source told The Telegraph the likely reason is that they are "very young".
However the Prince and Princess of Wales' children - Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince Louis, five, are all expected to join their parents at the event.
The Spencers
Another of Charles' former siblings-in-law believed to not be attending the Coronation is Princess Diana's brother Charles Spencer.
The Earl, 58, who is said to have a close relationship with his nephews princes William and Harry, admitted he did not expect to get the nod.
He told the Times Radio podcast Off Air in February: "I wouldn't have thought [I'd be invited], I think it's only about two thousand people going."
He added: "There is some old coronet knocking about here somewhere but I won't be wearing it soon, I don't think."
Given Charles has seemingly not made the list, it's unlikely his children - glamorous sisters Lady Kitty, Lady Amelia, Lady Eliza Spencer, and sons Louis and Edmund Spencer - will make the cut either.
The Spencers have previously attended large scale royal events, including the weddings of Harry and Meghan, and William and Kate.
The Duke of Rutland
Among the high profile aristocrats to be left off the guest list is the Duke of Rutland, David Manners - whose family seat, Belvoir Castle, was used to portray Windsor Castle in Netflix drama The Crown.
The 'duke' title is the highest-ranking hereditary title of the five peerages, outranking marquess, earl, viscount and baron.
The Duke of Rutland is said to be shocked and dismayed by the decision, telling the : "I have not been asked."
He added that he does "not really understand" why, given "it has been families like mine that have supported the Royal Family over 1,000 years or thereabouts".
The Duke's father Charles attended two coronations - the Queen's and her father King George VI's, at which his grandfather John carried the orb in the procession into Westminster Abbey.
A collection of his family's coronation robes is on display at Belvoir Castle - which the Duke shares with his ex-wife, Emma Rutland.
The Duke of Somerset
The Duke of Somerset, John Seymour, is also believed to have been stung by the decision to leave him off the guest list.
A pal told the Daily Mail he was "sprucing up the family state coach", having "entertained the idea of arriving in the Abbey in it".
The source said: "He thought he might be invited, even if not all the dukes were, because his is the second oldest dukedom after Norfolk's."
The Duke declined to comment when approached by the newspaper.
The Duke of Norfolk
He has planned every detail of the Coronation in his role of Earl Marshal, which comes with a hereditary duty to arrange state funerals of sovereigns and the accession of new monarchs.
But Duke of Norfolk Edward Fitzalan-Howard - the most senior peer in Britain, who arranged the Queen's funeral - is not invited to attend, according to the Daily Mail.
That's got to hurt.
Viscount Hereford
Robin Devereux, 19th Viscount Hereford, was as a premier viscount expected to be given the nod.
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However he too has reportedly not received an invitation.
According to the Daily Mail he has taken his exclusion "in good heart", with a source saying he's "still waiting for his invitation... but he's not upset about it. He knows that this is a new era."