Royal Family

History has just been made, as King Charles has been given his crown at his monumental coronation -- taking the reins in a centuries-long tradition following last year's death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.

Charles made things official Saturday morning at Westminster Abbey in London ... where people came in droves to watch the ceremony unfold, including Prince Harry, Prince William, Kate Middleton and other members of the royal family -- not to mention the millions/billions of others watching across the globe.

Charles gave the traditional coronation oath before signing a pledge to serve his people. He was later given St. Edward's Crown -- something that's been a part of the lineage for over 400 years!

William pledged allegiance following his father's crowning, while little Prince George served as one of the service's 4 Pages. The procession is now underway, taking Charles and Queen Camilla back to Buckingham Palace through the streets of London.

The coronation was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby -- leading these coronations has been a task for Archbishops since the first one went down way back in 1066 for William I the Conqueror.

Don't forget, today's festivities took a lot of preparation -- as we reported, Buckingham Palace was recently transformed in order for those involved to go over the layout on a more private scale.

This week, we've seen the likes of Prince William, Kate, and their kids heading to Westminster for some rehearsals ahead of the real deal.

And just days before the coronation, swarms of fans camped outside to show their support -- donning some pretty spectacular outfits, too.

You'll recall, Charles was thrust into power following the death of QE 2 in September ... news that rocked the entire world for weeks on end. Her funeral procession had all eyes on it, too.

Remember, her coffin was even rushed by someone as people waited up to 28 hours to pay respects -- but he was rapidly tackled by cops and arrested.

There was a ton of drama following her death, specifically between the royal fam and Prince Harry & Meghan Markle ... after the couple's Netflix series blasted what they saw as toxicity within the palace walls. Harry was even reportedly written out of Saturday's big event as a result of his book, "Spare."

PH and MM did eventually get an invite to the coronation, but only Harry attended, with Meghan and the kiddos staying across the pond.

Prince Harry wasn't treated like much of a prince at Saturday's coronation ... 'cause he was relegated to the cheap seats while his brother, William, sat center stage.

Harry got the less-than-royal treatment as he and the world watched the coronation of his father King Charles III at Westminster Abbey church in London.

The Duke of Sussex flew solo to the much-anticipated event, leaving his wife, Meghan Markle, at their home in Montecito amid continuing tensions between them and the Royal Family.

Harry was grinning awkwardly while seated among many onlookers three rows back from where his father was getting crowned King. By contrast, his brother, Prince William, was sitting front and center and enjoying the festivities with his wife, Kate, at his side.

Clad in a black suit with medals attached, Harry was also seen mingling with relatives after arriving at the church with Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and their husbands. His interactions with family reportedly seemed off with his fake smiles and laughter.

By the command of TMZ, you are now in attendance at this week's Frigin' Difference and are ordered to find the switch-ups made to these two shots of King Charles III. Grab your hanky and see if you can crown the three minor changes!

The King was quite the busy man, as he made the rounds ahead of his coronation, but the old chap carved out some time to flash a friendly wave to his fans. See if you've got what it takes to put your finger on these royal diffs!

With April Showers wrapped up, it's peak season to honor all the blossomed buds, so we've planted some of Hollywood's hottest stars ... side-by-side and decked out in floral swimwear. It's now up to you to crown your fave bloomin' babes for ... Hollywood Coronation Carnation Day!

Bow down to bombshells like Hailey vs. Halsey who both snapped a mirror selfie showcasing their flower power, but the scenery doesn't stop with these two ... There is a bountiful bunch of other beauties like Stassie vs. Tessa -- and a bunch more babes -- stepping up to take the throne in their flower print swimsuits.

It's just one more sleep until King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla's coronation ... and royal superfans waiting patiently for the big day are getting campy as the royal fam goes through its final rehearsal.

Charles, Camilla, and Prince William were back at Westminster Abbey Friday -- while the folks looking forward to Saturday's ceremony have already started to camp out ... and it's clear a little rain won't stop them!

There are some unique costumes in the mix -- from one dude puttin' the British flag everywhere to another rockin' a shiny jacket with Charles and Camilla's mugs on it!

Another royal subject shut out the rain with a Union Jack-themed poncho!

And it ain't just the UK showing up in support -- First Lady Jill Biden also arrived in London Friday ahead of tomorrow's festivities.

As we reported, William, Kate Middleton, and their kiddos have been driving to and from Westminster all week for rehearsals. Harry hasn't been seen yet, but he's likely there by now, with less than 24 hours before his father's big day.

And, here's a quick reminder the ascending monarch wasn't always 74. Get it, King!!!

The Royal Family is gearing up for King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla's coronation ... so, the next in line to the throne is front and center with his brood practicing their part in the ceremony.

Prince William and Kate Middleton were at Westminster Abbey Wednesday morning -- with Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte in tow for one of many run-throughs before Saturday's ceremony.

William and 9-year-old George have some big parts to play in this weekend's coronation ... with William pledging allegiance once Charles is crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and George taking on the role of one of the Kings' 4 Pages.

Can't have the kid messing up, so these rehearsals are crucial!

The man and woman of the hour, King Charles and his Queen, were also on hand Wednesday -- apart from them, Charles' sister Anne was in the building, too ... all a part of the not-so top-secret rehearsal.

As we reported, Prince Harry -- despite all the bad blood -- will be attending his father's big day. He was not at the family run-through, and it's unclear how involved he will be in the coronation itself.

Meghan Markle got an invite too, but won't be heading overseas with her hubby.

FYI -- a Buckingham Palace ballroom had reportedly been recently turned into a mock version of the Westminster Abbey location where people have been able to work through the layout and rehearse on a more private scale.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were just a handful of celebs who bent the knee for HRH last night -- and no, we don't mean King Charles ... we're talking LeBron James.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had box seats Monday at Crypto.com Arena -- having come on down from the Santa Barbara area to catch the big playoff game against the Grizzlies  ... which King James and co. secured in down-to-the-wire dramatic fashion.

Their presence came as a surprise to many when the TNT broadcast showed them in their private suite up in the stands -- and they seemed to be enjoying themselves ... flashing grins.

Later, they were caught on the Kiss Cam ... with their image being plastered on the giant jumbotron. The couple didn't really lock lips or anything, though ... they just giggled until the camera cut to someone else. However, it does seem PH might've considered a smooch.

Pretty neat to see 'em in such a public setting like this ... considering we hardly ever do. Harry and Meg tend to stick to the 805 area code, more or less, and hardly venture to the heart of L.A. And if they do ... they come privately, as they're hardly snapped by paps here.

Like we mentioned, they were in good (famous) company yesterday -- other stars in the building included Kim Kardashian, Adam Sandler, Timothy Olyphant, Flea and more.

We'll see more of Harry next weekend for his dad's coronation -- where Harry's expected to be front and center for the actual crowning ceremony on Saturday. Meghan won't attend.

Prince Harry is going to his dad's coronation next month ... but Meghan Markle won't be with him.

Buckingham Palace broke the news Wednesday, saying they were "pleased to confirm that the Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on May 6th." They add, "The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet."

Harry and Meg's rep issued the same statement, FWIW ... so they're all on the same page.

PH's attendance has been the subject of much speculation/intrigue for the past several weeks -- this after King Charles officially sent the invite ... putting the ball in his court.

It's interesting that Meghan is not going. On its face, you could argue it makes sense -- fact is ... their son, Archie, is turning 4 that same weekend (May 6). So, she technically has a good excuse to skip it ... the Coronation and the birthday just happen to fall on the same day.

Of course, skeptics might say she doesn't wanna go because of her rocky history with the Royals -- remember, she and Harry have accused them of just about everything under the sun ... from straight-up racism to passive-aggressive mistreatment, it's all been alleged.

One other interesting tidbit ... some reports suggest Harry will not be on hand for the full 3 days of celebration during Charles' big blowout, which will carry on throughout the entire weekend. People Mag, for instance, claims he'll just attend the crowning ceremony itself.

Seeing how Charles is going to be super busy ... you gotta imagine there'll be little to no time for him and his youngest son to properly chat and maybe even reconcile. But, with that said, Harry going at all is certainly a step in the right direction to mend this broken fence.

The saga continues.

For more royal drama, tune into our podcast Spilling Royal Tea, dropping every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts.

Prince Louis has crossed a Royal threshold -- going to church on Easter with his family ... something his older siblings didn't do publicly until just last year, so he's got 'em beat.

The youngest child of Prince William and Kate Middleton -- who's 4, but turning 5 later this month -- was seen out with the whole brood Sunday as the Wales crew made their way to mass to celebrate the holy day ... with everyone color coordinating in crisp, blue outfits.

Louis looked well-behaved as he held onto his mom and dads' hands while coming to and leaving St. George's Chapel. He even shook hands with the priest ... which was pretty cute to see.

It's interesting that he made his big debut at such a young age -- you see, Prince George and Princess Charlotte only got out there for the first time last year at ages 8 and 6, respectively. Despite PL's history of acting out, it would seem Will and Kate trusted him.

From the looks of it, Lou put on his big-boy pants shorts and kept it together through what is undoubtedly a boring holiday for little ones ... at least when an egg hunt's not in play.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's nonprofit paid a pretty penny to the woman who used to run point on all things PR for Michelle Obama ... and some smell politics in the air.

The revelation surfaced in the Archewell Foundation's 2021 tax disclosure docs -- which appear to have just been posted in March ... and which the media perused over the weekend ... only to see MM and co. shelled out hundreds of thousands in strategic PR consulting.

A little over $215,000 was forked over to a company called Invisible Hand, which specializes in social impact and culture ... offering a wide variety of PR-related services on their menu.

What caught people's eye, however, was the $110k that was paid to a company called KMLSA -- a good old-fashioned PR agency based near San Diego, CA. The top dog at this org is none other than Katie Mccormick-Lelyveld ... who's directly tied to the Obamas.

Indeed ... she was actually Michelle's Press Secretary for a while, officially working for the former First Lady from 2007 to 2011. She's also provided PR work for Hillary Clinton in the past ... not to mention John Kerry -- both of whom are huge political titans obviously.

Her company, KML Strategic Advisors, touts itself this way ... "From the corporate war room to the media battlefield, the corner office to the White House, KML Strategic Advisors are your guides through rarified air." Considering her resume, that's pretty darn accurate.

Now, as for what documented purpose the Archewell Foundation paid these 2 agencies ... their tax disclosure keeps it vague, only citing "Strategic Support for Social Impact PR."

That could be interpreted a million different ways ... but some are digesting it as a potential signal that Meghan herself might be gearing up for public office -- and is hiring the best people in the biz to guide her. Of course, it could also just be related to their Royal drama.

We know Meg and Harry are knee-deep in their philanthropy work, and the PR consulting could easily be just about that as well. But, by the same token, we also know Meghan is all about causes -- and there's no better place to advocate and fight for those than D.C.

Time will tell, we suppose!

President Biden is apparently skipping King Charles' coronation -- but there still might be a U.S. presence in the stands ... and it could be one of his two favorite ladies.

The Telegraph broke the news Friday ... reporting that they've been told by their Buckingham Palace sources that the King and co. were recently made aware of JB's intentions -- namely, not being in attendance as one of the many heads of state that are scheduled to show up.

That doesn't mean there won't be someone on his behalf, though. Per the UK outlet, he's mulling sending either his wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, or his Veep ... Kamala Harris.

In addition to Jill/Kamala, there'll also be a formal U.S. delegation -- which will presumably include ambassadors, diplomats and other personnel ... the White House has said they'll announce those names in the coming weeks.

As for why Joe's bailing ... the word is, he has prior commitments -- although it's unclear what exactly. Here's the thing, the Telegraph reports it's no harm, no foul as far as Charles is concerned. In other words, he isn't taking it personally ... as no U.S. Prez has ever attended a British coronation, so it's not like POTUS is bucking tradition by failing to appear.

There's another thing to consider here, that some are reading into as it relates to Biden and his feelings about Charles and the monarchy at large -- perhaps he doesn't like 'em much.

There are reports that Biden's mother, who was of Irish descent, absolutely hated England (see history for why) ... which, if true, surely might've been communicated to Joe at some point. There's also the Harry and Meghan factor ... which could also be playing into this.

He's been pretty neutral on commenting about them -- but his ex-Press Sec., Jen Psaki, did publicly praise them for speaking up in the Oprah interview, saying JB felt that took courage.

In any case, Joe's gonna be a no-show.

Meghan Markle scored a big W in court Thursday after a judge gave her sister's defamation case the boot.

The Florida judge dismissed Samantha Markle's $75K lawsuit, ruling Meghan's opinion of her experiences growing up was just that ... her opinion, and that's not defamation.

Samantha had claimed Meghan's statement to Oprah that she grew up an only child and only met her half-sister a handful of times was not slander. Samantha argued the statement was false, malicious and humiliating ... but the judge wasn't buying what she was selling.

Meghan's legal team tried to get the case dismissed last month, saying their client was merely talking about her life the way she saw it -- and in the end that's the way the judge saw it, too.

Count this as a win for the Dutchess.

Brian Cox has backtracked on negative comments he made about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry -- and he's blaming the media for taking his words out of context.

The "Succession" star was interviewed by Radio Times and now says he had "enormous sympathy" for the royals after they announced they were leaving Britain's Monarchy in 2020. He previously showed little sympathy for the couple, saying Markle knew what she was getting into when she tied the knot with Harry and even fantasized about marrying Prince Charming.

In his Radio Times sit down, Cox said Markle got caught up in a fairytale that had an unhappy ending, referring to the Royal Family. He said the couple was the product of a dying institution (The Monarchy), which was difficult for Meghan to adapt to due to her American upbringing.

Cox said Markle understandably viewed The Royal lifestyle as a fairytale, but it all went "horribly wrong” for Meghan and Harry in the end.

The actor added, “I think they’re victims," meaning Harry and Meghan. Cox also said he was "a bit angry" his words were taken out of context during an interview with Haute Living New York earlier this month.

In that interview, he was quoted by the outlet as saying Markle knew what she was getting into and had "childhood dreams of marrying Prince Charming and all that s–t we see as fantasy that could be our lives in our dreams.”

Cox went on to say Markle shouldn't have been surprised by the crush of media attention following her and Harry's exit from the Royal Family.

Prince Harry has made the trek to England, but not to make peace with his family ... he's there to wage war with a media org, and Elton John is joining him on the front lines.

The Duke of Sussex arrived Monday at London's High Court ... flashing a smile as he went inside to begin legal proceedings in his ongoing lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, which distributes The DailyMail and other UK tabloids.

He wasn't the only one there ... the Rocket Man himself was on hand. Harry and Elton have company ... EJ's husband, David Furnish, actress Sadie Frost, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Elizabeth Hurley. SF showed face as well on Monday, joining in the lawsuit.

Harry has already taken Associated Newspapers to court with his wife, Meghan Markle, and settled.

This time around ... Harry and the gang claim the publisher violated privacy laws, including allegedly bugging their cars and homes, tapping their phones, paying off cops for inside info, among other damning accusations that they say have crossed the line big time.

Associated Newspapers has denied the allegations ... so now, everyone's gonna make some preliminary arguments in front of a judge to see if this case can move forward.

Harry's already involved in a separate legal case with these folks. In addition to what Meghan sued them over a couple years back, he's sued them again for libel over articles they ran about his security arrangements.

The battle goes on.

You'd think Andrew Lloyd Webber would be feeling the pressure of having to craft King Charles' coronation music -- but the dude is pretty relaxed ... hilariously so, in fact.

The Broadway legend -- responsible for the numbers heard in "Cats," "The Phantom of the Opera" and others -- dished to WaPo about the Royal assignment he agreed to about a month ago ... namely, composing THE musical piece that'll be playing while KC gets crowned in May.

It's quite the task, and yet ... ALW sounds super chill about it. His interview here makes it seem like the gig is just another day in the office. He says, "I have written quite a lot of choral music. [M]y father was a very distinguished church organist and choirmaster and the choral tradition is not something that is new to me in a way, because it’s been there all my life." In other words, he's been there ... done that. Now, he's just doing it for the King.

As WaPo notes, Lloyd Webber's actually somewhat familiar with Charles -- having met and visited with him on a handful of occasions in the past. He tells this funny anecdote, kinda poking fun at the King's vanilla demeanor/interests ... and what HRH is passionate about.

ALW says, "The great thing about Charles is that he has a great love of really quite a lot of causes that are a little bit unfashionable. He cares very deeply about all sorts of quite interesting things."

The guy adds this ... "I mean, like, three or four years before lockdown, I got a call from him saying could I come around to meet him at Lancaster House quite urgently, because he’d had an idea. What it was that he was worried about was the fact that there wasn’t enough access for young people to go and learn how to play the church organ."

As for the actual music itself that he's putting together ... the deets are out. It's a three-minute tune set to the melody of Psalm 98, which will include the lyrics/refrain that reads, "O sing to the Lord a new song." Lloyd Webber's expected to put his own spin on it, though.

ALW's heading to London soon to test the audio at Westminster Abbey, where the ceremony will go down. Charles may be struggling with pop acts, but he's got the classics locked down.

"The Crown" is returning for its sixth and final season ... and we've now got a visual of how they'll portray Prince William's first meeting with his future wife Kate Middleton.

Ed McVey, who portrays the prince during his late teen/college years, and Meg Bellamy, who plays Kate, were fully into character in a series of photos taken on set in St. Andrews, Scotland earlier this week.

In the photos, the younger "royals" recreate William and Kate's first encounter at St. Andrews University in Scotland in 2001 ... giving fans a glimpse into their romance in its earlier years. And, we gotta say, casting for the two appears to be spot on.

As you know, the Prince and Princess of Wales started dating back in 2001 ... building on their legacy ever since.

The Netflix hit series chronicles the royal family in the wake of Princess Diana's death in 1997. And, the show is expected to take fans along a royal ride well into the late '90s and early 2000s.