President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will attend the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III in May, the Palace and Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Teodoro Locsin Jr. confirmed on Monday.
“President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos have accepted the invitation to attend the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty The Queen Consort at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, 6th May, 2023,” Malacanang said in a statement.
“Furthermore, the President and the First Lady have 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 Friday, 5th May, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.,” it added.
Locsin, the former Foreign Affairs secretary now envoy to the UK, said Mr. Marcos confirmed his attendance to the coronation during the wake of former Trade secretary Roberto Ongpin last February.
“He said: ‘Teddy Boy, I’m coming in, but we have to leave at once because we have to catch the (ASEAN) Summit (in Indonesia).’ He is going to be here,” Locsin was quoted as saying by the online news site ABS-CBN.com.
Locsin added that President Marcos and King Charles know each other personally as “they used to play polo together.”
Months earlier, British envoy Laure Beaufils told CNN Philippines the United Kingdom would send an invitation to Mr. Marcos for his attendance.
Beaufils said the UK had sent the President a “save the date” notice for the coronation of King Charles, who succeeded his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, at Westminster Abbey.
“We would love to see the president in the UK, and he will be getting an invitation,” the British ambassador to the Philippines said.
Beaufils also revealed there were key interests in the country that had been rising among British businessmen, adding the UK wants to be among the Philippines’ top investors.
Mr. Marcos missed Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, attended by many world leaders. Representing the President was his sister, Irene Romualdez Marcos Araneta, accompanied by her husband, Gregorio María Araneta III.
Buckingham Palace earlier announced that the coronation weekend will consist of three days of ceremonial, celebratory, and community events.
Charles, at the age 74, became King after his mother, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch for 70 years, passed away, on September 8 last year.
