Buckingham Palace is pleading with Westminster Abbey to secure more spaces at the Coronation, The Telegraph has learned.
A source suggested that the King was keen to get as many people into the Abbey as possible and looking at ways to maximise capacity.
Charles is understood to want a diverse congregation to witness the historic event and will invite representatives from his many charity affiliations and a large cross section from the voluntary sector.
Only a small minority of politicians and peers are expected to be invited and far fewer members of the aristocracy than the vast numbers that attended Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.
By comparison, Charles is said to be determined to reflect modern, multicultural society and ensure that his ceremony is inclusive.
Alongside the many members of the public will be faith leaders, the King’s godchildren and both current and former prime ministers.
Foreign royals, world leaders and representatives from the Houses of Parliament will also join the extended Royal family for the occasion.
While the source acknowledged that they would come nowhere close to the 8,000-plus capacity of the late Queen’s coronation in 1953, they said they were “hoping to get a few more in”.
They added: “There are ongoing conversations and we are working out how best to accommodate as many as possible.”
Currently just 20 MPs and 20 peers are expected to be invited and this has sparked uproar among politicians, who are furious at the prospect of missing out on an invitation.
It is still under discussion whether the 20 places reserved for MPs will also include Cabinet ministers.
That figure does not include former prime ministers who are believed to have been allocated separate spaces – but it has not yet been decided whether their spouses will also make the cut.
“Of course there will be some senior members of parliament who do not get spaces,” a source familiar with the plans said.
“There will be some real anger about who will be dumped out the door. I’m not aiming at Liz [Truss], but when you’ve only got done a few weeks as Prime Minister…it will be a nightmare.
“For the last coronation they built inside of Westminster Abbey to take 8,000 people – but now it can only take about 2,000. The palace has asked them to look at the numbers again and see if they can squeeze anyone else in.”
They added that if any extra places are found, it is expected that the Palace will want to allocate them to either foreign dignitaries or charity leaders, rather than more politicians.
In 1953, 800 MPs and 910 peers were invited to the late Queen’s coronation. But there will be no scaffolding erected in Westminster Abbey this time around to accommodate such numbers, meaning that spaces are much more limited.
While both the Government and the Royal household are determined to put on a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle of “glorious” pomp and pageantry, the King’s coronation will be significantly smaller in scale.
The final decision about which peers and MPs will make the cut will be made by the Cabinet Office, which is keen to ensure that attendees are representative of all parties, geographical locations, ages and backgrounds.
Government sources have already admitted that they were expecting dissent in the ranks, aware that most people will be disappointed.
The Telegraph reported earlier this month that there has already been a “significant amount of lobbying” for places, with people setting out why they should make the cut.
It comes after Sir Gavin Williamson told Liz Truss’s chief whip “you f— us all over” after he failed to secure an invite to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.
Sir Gavin – who helped rally MPs during Mr Sunak’s leadership campaigns – claimed it was “very poor how [parliamentary colleagues] who aren’t favoured have been excluded from the funeral”.
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