An "Embarrassing" Error Regarding King Charles's Coronation Is "Fixed" After Royal Fans Flag the Problem on Social Media

"You'd think they'd know!"

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King Charles wearing a crown at his coronation
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Following Queen Elizabeth II's death on September 8, 2022, King Charles became the new monarch of the United Kingdom. His coronation took place on May 6, 2023, at Westminster Abbey in London—a fact that royal fans are all too aware of. So when an "embarrassing" mistake transpired online regarding The King's status, fans of the Royal Family stepped in to help make the necessary changes.

The problem occurred when The Royal Collection Trust posted a portrait of King Charles on Instagram, along with the caption, "On this day in 2023, King Charles III acceded the throne."

The caption continued, "Painted to mark the coronation of King Charles III on May 6, 2023, this portrait continues a long tradition of coronation state portraits that spans centuries. It was commissioned by The King and painted by Peter Kuhfeld over the course of a year."

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"The portrait now hangs in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace," the caption explained. "The palace is open for self-guided tours until September 27, 2026."

A post shared by Royal Collection Trust (@royalcollectiontrust)

Of course, eagle-eyed royal fans were quick to spot the mistake in The Royal Collection Trust's Instagram caption. While Charles's coronation did take place in 2023, he officially acceded the throne in September 2022 upon his mother's death.

As the portrait was posted on September 8, 2026, one can only assume that the organization meant to reference King Charles's actual ascendance to the throne, rather than his coronation date.

After one poster pointed out that Charles acceded the throne in 2022—not in 2023—another person responded, "You'd think they'd know!"

Once the caption was updated, another commenter shared, "[T]hey wrote: on this day in 2023 but they fixed." Along with a laughing emoji, one royal fan replied, "I saw that they edited but was wondering from what. Dear me. How embarrassing."

King Charles waving in his coronation robes next to Prince George

Eagle-eyed royal fans were quick to spot the mistake.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Another fan said, "Surely they were thinking of the coronation…"

Luckily, royal fans were on hand to make sure facts about King Charles's monarch status weren't incorrectly shared.

Amy Mackelden
Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.