Artists including Adele, Elton John and Harry Styles have reportedly turned down an opportunity to perform at King Charles III’s upcoming coronation.
The Spice Girls and Robbie Williams are among the other acts who have declined invitations to put on a show at the momentous ceremony, Rolling Stone reported Wednesday.
While most of the musicians declined to explain why they would not take the stage, a rep for John confirmed to the magazine that the legendary Piano Man, 75, had been asked but could not attend due to scheduling issues.
Reps for the artists did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
Experts believe no one wants to perform because they therefore would be associated with the scandal-scarred monarchy.
“The royal family has faced a number of PR disasters in recent times, and anyone performing at the show would have to consider whether there would be a backlash from appearing amongst their fans,” Simon Jones, a publicist for Little Mix, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, told Rolling Stone in the article.
Others feel that aligning with Charles, 74, would not benefit their careers at this time.
“For them right now, storytelling is really important,” Meg, a head of a leading British music PR company who asked for her full name to be withheld, said of Adele, 34, and Styles, 29. “These big symbolic associations carry a lot of weight and literally go down in history books in bold and underlined. I can understand why there’d be a big PR discussion around artists doing it or not.”
Meg added, “With [Queen Elizabeth II], she was fab and glamorous to some people. Charles doesn’t add anything — there’s not a legacy of his that anyone would want to align with. It’s televised, so a lot of people will hear your songs, sure, but in terms of long-term PR strategy, I don’t know if performing would add positively to an artist’s narrative unless they were staunchly pro the monarchy.”
Many of the royal family’s scandals have been making headlines over the past few years, which could explain why so many stars are distancing themselves following the Queen’s death last September.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal exit has caused tension between them and the king, particularly after the Duke of Sussex, 38, aired the family’s dirty laundry in his January memoir, “Spare,” claiming his brother, Prince William, had physically attacked him and his father referred to Harry as his “spare” son on the day of his birth.
Markle, for her part, has also made damning accusations, telling Oprah Winfrey in 2021 that a royal family member voiced concerns over her son Archie’s skin color. The biracial Duchess of Sussex, 41, also claimed the royals did nothing when she came forward about having suicidal thoughts.
Another scandal that has rocked the UK is Prince Andrew’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The royal family failed to fully disassociate from the Duke of York, 63, amid accusations that he had sex with one of the late financier’s accusers, who was 17 at the time, which he denied.
Andrew was asked to step back from his royal duties in November 2019 and his now-infamous disaster of an interview, in which he defended his friendship with Epstein, but he has remained involved in family gatherings.
Andrew most recently made headlines for moving into Harry and Markle’s former UK home, Frogmore Cottage, after Charles evicted the couple.
In the midst of all the drama, Page Six exclusively reported last month that Harry and Markle have yet to be invited to his dad’s coronation.
Charles will officially be crowned monarch on May 6 at Westminster Abbey alongside his wife, Queen Consort Camilla.