 "Dabbawala, architect, actors: Indians invited to King Charles' coronation")
It has been 70 years since the last coronation took place in the Britsh empire. On May 6th, things will change as 74-year-old Prince Charles III will be officially crowned as the King during a lavish coronation ceremony.
The ceremony will take place in front of a 2,200 strong congregation assembled at Westminster Abbey in London. Apart from United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak leading the procession of flag bearers alongside his wife Akshata Murty, it is the presence of many Indians in the highly organised guest list of the Royal family that has attracted the attention of the Indians towards the ceremony.
The coronation will be a process divided into five special acts as followed:
The recognition
The oath
The anointing
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The investiture and crowning
The enthronement and homage
The ceremony which will begin at 11:00 am Local Time (03:30 pm IST) will see Vice President Jagdip Dhankar as India’s official guest at the ceremony. Apart from him, here’s the list of guests from India or who were born and brought up in India and are living in the UK, according to media reports.
Mumbai Dabbawalas
Famous for their impeccable service of lunchbox delivery, the Dabbalwals of Mumbai will be represented by some of the members of their community at the coronation. They were also among the few Indians that made it to the list of guests present at King Charles’ wedding. They will present Puneri Pagdi and a shawl of the Warkari community.
Sonam Kapoor
Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor, known for her style statement and profane sense of fashion is also amongst the Indians to have made it to the Royal Guest list. She is supposed to perform at the ceremony as well. What will she be performing is still not clear.
Sourabh Phadke
A Pune-born Architect, who has recently shifted to the UK has been invited to the ceremony. Sourabh is a graduate of the Prince’s Foundation’s Building Craft Programme and the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts – set up in Dumfries House, Scotland. He is invited as one of the charity champions for his work of building schools and teaching students in rural India over the years.
Gulfsha
At the young age of 25, Delhi resident Gulfhsa received the prestigious Prince’s Trust Global Award in 2022. She was invited to the United Kingdom back then as one of the achievers of The Prince’s Trust International partner Magic Bus India Foundation. Gulfsha completed the Get Into programme and got a job all by herself.
Daughter of an ordinary electrician and having five siblings, it was not easy for Gulfahsa to become a professional, but she did it despite all the odds. Now she has been invited to the coronation as well.
Dr Issac Mathai
Dr Mathai, the director of Soukya International Holistic Health Centre in Bangalore, has also got an invitation to the ceremony thanks to his Royal connections. Queen Consort Camillia has been a loyal visitor of the Soukya Europe also known as the 101 clinic in London for 10 years which is Europe’s First and largest Holistic Healthcare clinic. Dr Mathai became a close associate ever since. Even then Prince Charles also visited the facility in 2019. Dr Mathai was also among the few invited to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth.
Manju Malhi
Chef Manju Malhi, a famous British Anglo-Indian cuisine expert and Resident Chef for the charity Open Age, has also been invited to the ceremony. On the website dedicated to her, Manju describes herself as a girl brought up in Northwest London and influenced by Indian traditions and cuisines.
It is her association with the Open Age charity that has brought her the invitation to the ceremony. The 51-year-old is also a recipient of the British Empire Medal (BEM) for her services to the community in London during the COVID-19 response and will join 850 BEM recipients as well. So basically a double invitation as charity champion and BEM recipient for Manju Malhi.