Harry Styles and Elton John Have Both Turned Down Performing at King Charles III’s Coronation
The upcoming coronation of King Charles III is a momentous occasion for the royal family—but when it comes to today’s A-list talent, the occasion apparently doesn’t hold all that much weight. As the Palace prepares for the May 6 event, reports are swirling that they’ve reached out to a number of high-profile musical acts and invited them to perform, receiving a long line of “no thank yous” in response. The latest to courteously decline? Harry Styles, who’s still in the midst of his ongoing Love On tour.
Reports from The Sun and The Daily Express claim that Adele, Ed Sheeran, Robbie Williams, Elton John and the Spice Girls had all been approached with an offer to perform at the coronation, and that each and every one had ultimately turned them down. The Spice Girls were briefly set to perform, but then backed out, and both Elton John and Harry Styles cited scheduling conflicts as the reason they weren’t able to appear.
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The current plan is for Take That’s Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald to headline the coronation concert, with potential additional appearances from Kylie and Dannii Minogue.
A source told The Sun that “organizers are working against the clock to pull together an exciting line-up but have hit a series of challenges,” explaining that “Elton John was top of Charles’s list but due to his European tour, which sees him performing in Germany the Friday before then again soon after the Windsor concert, he isn’t able to make the dash to the UK work.”
“Meanwhile, man-of-the-moment Harry Styles is also tied up with touring and unable to get key band members together as they’ll be on much-needed downtime,” the source added.
At least one big musical moment will accompany the upcoming coronation: His Majesty has commissioned 12 new pieces of music for the occasion, including a new Coronation Anthem by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which the composer says includes “words slightly adapted from Psalm 98” and which will be performed by the Westminster Abbey choir. Webber, the composer of hit musicals such as Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, shared that he was “incredibly honored to have been asked to compose a new anthem” and that he hopes his anthem “reflects this joyful occasion.”
As questions continue to linger about whether or not Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will attend the coronation, to which they have reportedly been invited, other big-ticket musicians refusing to appear have added to the overall impression that the monarchy is entering its least prestigious era yet. The royal family may have tradition on its side, but when it comes to modern-day cachet, King Charles may have less to offer than his memoir-penning second son.
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