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    Prince Louis Saved King Charles From Being "Bored Out of His Mind" During Preparations for One Huge Royal Family Event

    A "surprise visit" changed everything.

    Amy Mackelden's avatar
    By Amy Mackelden
    Published 17 October 2026 In News

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    Prince Louis Saved King Charles From Being "Bored Out of His Mind" During Preparations for One Huge Royal Family Event
    (Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
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    Following Queen Elizabeth II's death on September 8, 2022, King Charles acceded the British throne. King Charles's coronation took place on May 6, 2023, at Westminster Abbey in London. And according to a new report, the monarch was struggling during a rehearsal for the coronation, until one of his grandchildren appeared.

    During an appearance at Cheltenham Literature Festival, former secretary of state for defence Dame Penny Mordaunt opened up about a sweet moment between King Charles and Prince Louis.

    "We were doing dress rehearsals on the Thursday before, and The King was bored out of his mind," Mordaunt shared (via the Telegraph). "He'd just done two weeks of this, and he'd had enough. I was watching him glaze over in the coronation chair."

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    Luckily, the appearance of one of King Charles's grandchildren reportedly changed everything.

    King Charles sitting with Prince Louis on his lap and pointing

    "And then [King Charles] suddenly sprung to life because beside him was Prince Louis, who had come to visit."

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    "And then [King Charles] suddenly sprung to life because beside him was Prince Louis, who had come to visit," Mordaunt explained. "They stopped the rehearsal so that he could show Prince Louis all the Crown Jewels. That's a memory that I shall treasure."

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    Princess Kate wearing a bright pink dress sitting down and laughing at Prince Louis who is wearing a white shirt and blue shorts, standing up and cheering with his tongue out

    "They stopped the rehearsal so that he could show Prince Louis all the Crown Jewels."

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    King Charles's bond with Prince Louis has been witnessed on several occasions, with the little royal even sitting on his grandfather's lap at some public royal events.

    Emily Nash, Hello! magazine's royal editor, explained, "The King is close to all of the Wales children and regularly meets up with them at Windsor on Sundays."

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    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.

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