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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Nia Dalton

Everyone who swerved the King's Coronation from Meghan to Peep Show's Big Suze

The Coronation saw monarchs, A-list celebrities and millions of Brits come together to celebrate the reign of King Charles III in London today.

Amongst the well-known faces attending the service at Westminster Abbey was pop singer Katy Perry and TV presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.

Prince Harry also chose to fly in for the occasion, though he left early to return to his home in the US to celebrate his son Archie's birthday.

The rainy streets were filled with fans dressed in Union Jacks and the royal church was packed with 2,200 VIP guests - but there were many that didn't attend.

Sophie Winkleman

Sophie Winkleman is the daughter-in-law of the late Queen's cousin (2011 Indigo)

Actress Sophie Winkleman, 42, was amongst the royal connections that swerved the King's Coronation today.

Sophie - most famously known for playing Peep Show's Big Suze - has become a regular at royal events thanks to her connection with the Royal Family.

Sophie wed Lord Freddie in 2009, who is the son of Prince Michael of Kent, who is the Queen's cousin and son of Prince George.

The actress has previously said she was welcomed into the clan with open arms, particularly by the late Queen and King Charles.

Speaking to The Times, she said: "I've been incredibly welcomed with open arms by all of them... They'd never tell me off at all if I wanted to play some [racy] role."

Sophie was a guest at the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Kate and attended Queen Elizabeth's funeral last year.

Despite her previous participation in royal events, there was no show of Sophie in Westminster Abbey.

Meghan Markle

Meghan chose to stay at home in California and celebrate Archie's forth birthday (Getty Images)

Meghan also didn't attend the Coronation with Harry and stayed in America with the couple's two children instead, so that she could celebrate Prince Archie turning four.

A statement by Buckingham Palace revealed: "The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet."

There was some speculation that Meghan was not attending because of a letter she previously sent expressing concerns over unconscious bias in the Royal Family.

But these rumours were quickly shut down when Meghan denied reports in a rare personal statement last month.

It read: "The Duchess of Sussex is going about her life in the present, not thinking about correspondence from two years ago related to conversations from four years ago. Any suggestion otherwise is false and frankly ridiculous."

Sarah Ferguson

Sarah Ferguson was not invited to the historic occasion and instead threw a party at home with the late monarch's corgis.

The Duchess of York, 63, said she wasn't offended by Charles' snub because she and Prince Andrew were divorced.

A friend of Fergie told the Daily Mail that she "has been hugely supportive of Charles and Camilla and does not want this to become about her".

So she happily watched her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, attend the Coronation from the comfort of her home.

President Joe Biden

The US President did not attend but congratulated The King publicly (REX/Shutterstock)

US President Joe Biden did not attend the Coronation and sent First Lady Jill Biden in his place instead.

She chose to bring granddaughter, Finnegan Biden, 23, as her plus one, and they wore blue and yellow - the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

No US leader has ever attended the ceremony since the country gained its independence in 1776, making this the first time a family member of a sitting president has been to the coronation of a British monarch.

First Lady Jill Biden and her granddaughter Finnegan went instead (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Following the ceremony, Biden tweeted from the official POTUS Twitter account: "Congratulations to King Charles III and Queen Camilla on their Coronation. The enduring friendship between the US and the UK is a source of strength for both our peoples."

He added: "I am proud the First Lady is representing the United States for this historic occasion."

Lady Pamela Hicks

Lady Pamela Hicks was not invited but thought it was sensible to condense guests (Getty Images)
The late Queen's lady-in-waiting wishes The King and Queen Camilla well (Getty Images)

Amongst the aristocrats that didn't receive an invite was Lady Pamela Hicks, the former lady-in-waiting to the late Queen and first cousin of Prince Philip.

Though her daughter, India, took to Instagram to reveal that her mother didn't mind at all, and found it sensible to base invitations on meritocracy.

She said she planned to "follow with great interest the events of this new reign".

George Herbert

Queen Elizabeth's godson watched the Coronation from his home (AFP via Getty Images)

The late Queen's godson, George Herbert, the Earl of Carnarvon, was not invited to Westminster Abbey to watch the monarch being crowned.

The Earl's wife, Countess Fiona, told the Daily Mail: "We will be watching [the service]. We are not there - new King, new way of doings things."

Though she added that such changes are "the right thing to do".

David Manners

David Manners 'couldn't understand' why he'd been snubbed from the guest list (John Alex Maguire/REX/Shutterstock)

David Manners, the current Duke of Rutland, apparently did "not really understand" why he wasn't invited to the Coronation.

He said: "It has been families like mine that have supported the Royal Family over 1,000 years or thereabouts."

World leaders

World leaders from across the Commonwealth and the globe attended to see the official crowning of The King.

But some countries did not attend, including Russia, Belarus Myanmar, Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela and Iran.

Music artists

Kylie supported Australia by turning down Charles' invite (Chris Jackson/PA Wire)
Sir Elton John already had plans for this weekend (Fati Sadou/ABACAPRESS.COM/REX/Shutterstock)

Organisers have not been able to nail down the superstars everyone wanted to perform at the Coronation Concert tomorrow.

Kylie Minogue turned down the chance to sing on stage after things became quite political.

A source told the Mail on Sunday: "Kylie has been an honorary Brit for many, many years, and admires the Royal Family and everything that they do.

"But she is also a passionate Australian and has read the room in a country that could very soon become a republic."

The Spice Girls surprisingly didn't want to reunite tomorrow (Corbis via Getty Images)

Icons Sir Elton John and the Spice Girls joined the list of those who couldn't make it.

The Rocket Man won't be performing due to his European tour, which sees him performing in Germany the Friday before with not enough turnaround time blamed.

Meanwhile, Melanie C, Mel B, Geri Horner and Emma Bunton had been tipped to reunite for the Coronation, but decided against it.

Harry Styles was also forced to say no as he continues to tour the world with his sell-out Love On Tour stadium show.

Adele was already contracted to work elsewhere (Getty Images for AD)
Harry Styles is currently touring for Love On Tour (Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, fellow Brit Award winner Adele turned down an offer due to previous contractual agreements.

Ed Sheeran "was unable to make the concert due to logistics and previous touring commitments" it was claimed.

It came as a big blow to organisers with Ed and Adele said to be top of The King's wish list.

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