King Charles III's stripped-back coronation will feature a significantly reduced guest list and has resulted in thousands of people who may have expected an invitation missing out.
The UK king has long favoured a trimmed-down monarchy and his coronation will be much smaller than his mother's, which featured 8,000 guests at Westminster Abbey in 1953.
The decision to curtail the attendance has caused rumblings among members of British high society, including a complaint from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the event's official organisers. Rupert Carrington revealed his upset that there was no space for his wife.
“I’m very sad it’s a dress-down occasion and my wife doesn’t get a seat,” the peer told The Times.
Among those who did not receive an invitation was one of Queen Elizabeth II’s bridesmaids, Lady Pamela Hicks, a member of the Mountbatten dynasty, which has long-standing ties to the Windsor royals.
Her daughter India Hicks announced the news in a post on Instagram.
The designer and former fashion model revealed that Buckingham Palace rang her mother to say she would not be invited to the coronation because of the decision to reduce numbers.
“One of the king’s personal secretaries was passing on a message from the king,” she wrote.
“They explained that this coronation was to be very different to the queen’s – 8,000 guests would be whittled down to 1,000, alleviating the burden on the state.”
But she said her mother, who turned 94 on Wednesday, was untroubled by the news.
“The king was sending his great love and apologies, he was offending many family and friends with the reduced list,” Ms Hicks said.
“My mother was not offended at all. ‘How very, very sensible,' she said. Invitations based on meritocracy not aristocracy.”
She said her mother added: “I am going to follow with great interest the events of this new reign.”
In the same Instagram post, Ms Hicks wished her mother a happy 94th birthday.
Lady Pamela, who was also the late queen’s lady-in-waiting, is the daughter of the king’s great-uncle, Earl Mountbatten.
Earl Mountbatten was murdered by the IRA in 1979 while on holiday in Ireland. His death was depicted in the Netflix drama series The Crown.
All senior royal family members will be in attendance, including Prince Harry, who confirmed he would be there, but his wife Megan and their two children are staying behind in California, where they now live.
Some foreign royals have already confirmed their attendance, including Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco; and the Crown Prince and Princess of Japan.
Current and former UK prime minsters have been invited, as have some senior cabinet members, although it has been reported that their invitations do not allow them to bring a "plus one".
