Charles and Camilla to be crowned together in 'scaled back' coronation; Harry and Meghan won't join on balcony

After Duchess Camilla was announced as the next Queen Consort, it has been revealed she will be crowned side by side with Prince Charles when he takes over the throne.

According to a report in Mail Online, the future monarch couple will be crowned in a "scaled-back" coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey. The Prince of Wales is currently preparing plans for the service which will be significantly shorter and cheaper than his mother Queen Elizabeth II's in 1953.

The plans for the coronation, which is due to happen within a year of Charles's accession as the King of the United Kingdom, are being discussed as part of Operation Golden Orb. A source revealed that the ceremony will be "shorter, sooner, smaller, less expensive and more representative of different community groups and faiths."

The insider added that the coronation will have the same Anglican service and the same vows, but some aspects will be altered to "reflect modern day Britain." Far fewer protectorates are expected to be invited to the service, and the number of total guests would also be limited to 2,000.

In addition, fewer members of the British royal family will be in attendance as compared to Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. The first display of Prince Charles's plans of a slimmed-down monarchy will be seen on the day, as only a few members of the family will be joining him and Camilla for the balcony appearance at Buckingham Palace afterwards.

While the balcony is always packed and crowded with senior as well as extended family members during the Queen's appearances, Charles is expected to only invite his son and heir Prince William along with his wife Kate Middleton and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Charles's younger son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, who quit their royal duties in 2020, are expected to miss the balcony appearance.

Camilla will be the first Queen Consort to be crowned after her grandmother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who was crowned alongside King George VI in 1937.