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Princess Elisabeth of Belgium will be joining father King Philippe at Buckingham Palace the night before King Charles ’ coronation. The Belgian Royal Palace has confirmed that the 21-year-old Princess, who is first in line to the Belgian throne, will accompany her dad to the reception on May 5, while just King Philippe and his wife Queen Mathilde will attend the coronation service the following day.
Elisabeth won’t be the only future European Queen at the reception. The Dutch Royal House previously revealed that Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander’s eldest daughter, Princess Catharina-Amalia, will attend the reception with her paternal grandmother Princess Beatrix. The Princess of Orange, 19, is first in line to the Dutch throne.
The Daily Mail reported last week that more than 1,000 guests are expected to attend the reception at Buckingham Palace, along with senior members of the royal family. “It will feel rather like the annual Diplomatic reception held every December at Buckingham Palace as opposed to a state banquet, and will be a nice mix of majesty, family and friends,” a source told the outlet.
Another source said, “It will basically be most of the VIP coronation guests plus all those Their Majesties wanted to invite to the ceremony but couldn’t due to the scaled back numbers at the Abbey.”
King Charles’ coronation is taking place the day after the reception. His Majesty will be crowned at London’s Westminster Abbey on May 6. In addition to the King and Queen of Belgium, Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Queen Letizia and King Felipe of Spain and Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and his daughter Crown Princess Victoria will be among the royal guests at the coronation.