After waiting 74 years for this moment, King Charles has planned his coronation, said to be costing $185 million, down to the finest detail.
Well-known among his close circle to be a perfectionist, insiders say he’s “stressed to the max” about aspects he can’t control ahead of his historic accession – and they fear it’s taking a toll on his health.
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“For the first time in his life, Charles is starting to really feel his age,” says a source. “His mother always insisted it was of the utmost importance to listen to his doctors and to rest whenever he could.”
With a jam-packed diary of rehearsals, garden parties and gala dinners ahead of the May 6 Westminster Abbey event, courtiers are growing concerned the King’s bitten off way more than any ordinary septuagenarian can chew.
They fear the chaotic events of the past seven months since Her Majesty the Queen died may take its toll at the most inopportune time.
From Prince Harry’s public rampages to Prince Andrew bringing the Windsors into disrepute, along with ongoing public debate over whether such an ostentatious event is in poor taste in light of Britain’s economic crisis, the King’s stressors in the lead-up have been “unlike anything imagined”.
But, a close insider confides, the monarch is hiding his worst struggle of all.
“With everything going on, it’s easy to forget he is still mourning the loss of his mother. While the world has mostly moved on, for Charles, it’s not even been a year since she died,” says a source. “And the Queen wasn’t just a mother, she was his mentor, his confidante, the solution to all his problems.”
“He’s not had time to really digest her absence from his life, and is trying to get on with things while surviving milestones such as her birthday, which was just last week [April 21].”
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With preparations for the King’s big day remaining in full swing, New Idea understands his health is being closely monitored by palace doctors, and his wife, Queen Camilla.
“He’s under strict orders to rest every moment he can and, with Camilla’s backing, his medical team are not taking any risks,” says the source, who reveals they want him to slow down, exercise appropriately, take days off and get more sleep.
“Charles has a very long ceremony to get through in a couple of weeks, and never has the saying ‘heavy is the head that wears the crown’ been more accurate.”
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