After much speculation, it was finally announced this week that King Charles III will have his official coronation ceremony on May 6, 2023—his wife, Queen Camilla, will also be crowned on the same day. While some had originally hypothesized that Charles might hold off until June 2 in order to hold his coronation on the same day that his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, held hers back in 1953, the May date has a number of special connections for the royal family that make it a particularly meaningful choice.
Perhaps most notably for modern royal fans, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, the eldest child of Charles's son Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, was born on May 6, 2019, so Charles's coronation day will also fall on the same day as his grandson's 4th birthday. It will mark the second auspicious royal occasion to share a date with Harry and Meghan's children, as their daughter Lili had her first birthday while visiting the UK to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee earlier this year.
May 6 also happens to be the anniversary of Charles's aunt, Princess Margaret's wedding to Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960.
However, the date doesn't just have modern day significance for the royals—it's also likely a nod to royal family history. The king's great-great grandfather, King Edward VII (eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert), died on May 6, 1910, making Charles's great-grandfather George V, king. Later, Charles's grandfather, King George VI, also held his coronation in May (albeit the 12th) in 1937, with Charles's mother, the then-Princess Elizabeth in attendance.
Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails.
