President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos have accepted the invitation to attend the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty The Queen Consort on May 6, Malacañang announced on Monday.
It was in January this year when British Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils first revealed that the Monarchy had invited Marcos to the UK for King Charles’ coronation.
In a press statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the President and the First Lady have also accepted the invitation of the Master of the Household, upon command of His Majesty, to a Reception to be given at Buckingham Palace in advance of the Coronation of Their Majesties The King and The Queen Consort on May 5 at 5 p.m.
In an online report by ABS-CBN, Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Marcos will not be staying long in England, saying he will still have to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Indonesia.
King Charles’ coronation will be on May 6, while the ASEAN Summit is slated to start as early as May 9.
According to the website of the British Royal Family, the coronation ceremony will take place at Westminster Abbey, London, and will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
“The Coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry,” the Royal Family said.
King Charles III, formerly known as The Prince of Wales, was born in 1948 and became heir apparent on the accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952.
“In addition to his official and ceremonial duties in the United Kingdom and overseas as The Prince of Wales, His Majesty has taken a keen and active interest in all areas of public life for decades,” the Royal Family website said.
“The King has been instrumental in establishing more than 20 charities over 40 years, including The Prince’s Trust, The Prince’s Foundation, and The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF),” it added.
The Queen Consort was born Camilla Rosemary Shand on July 17, 1947 at King’s College Hospital London, the daughter of Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand and the Hon Rosalind Maud Shand (nee Cubitt).
On April 9, 2005, The Prince of Wales and Ms. Camilla Parker-Bowles were married in a civil ceremony at the Guildhall, Windsor. (PNA)