Royal Fans Correct Palace Art Keepers Over King's Accession Year

The Royal Collection Trust told Instagram that King Charles III "acceded to the throne" in 2023.

He did not.

The post showed the coronation portrait of King Charles III and carried the line, "On this day in 2023, King Charles III acceded to the throne." Followers spotted the slip straight away. The Trust then amended the year from 2023 to 2022, as reported by HELLO! Magazine.

Accession, the automatic succession to the Crown, came on 8 September 2022 on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The coronation, the crowning ceremony at Westminster Abbey, followed on 6 May 2023. Two different events. Two different years.

Fans did not let it pass. Comments under the post included "2022", "On this day, 2022!" and "You'd think they'd know!"

The picture at the centre of the row is no casual snap. It was commissioned by the King and painted by Peter Kuhfeld over the course of a year. It now hangs in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace.

The portrait marks a heavy day in more ways than one. King Charles said in the documentary Coronation Girls that he felt "slightly anxious" about wearing St Edward's Crown, the historic solid-gold crown used for the moment of crowning. It weighs five pounds.

The ceremony also included a public promise from his heir. William, Prince of Wales, knelt and recited: "I, William, Prince of Wales, pledge my loyalty to you and faith and truth I will bear unto you, as your liege man of life and limb. So help me God." Prince William was the only figure to make that personal pledge in that form.

Charles, formerly known as the Prince of Wales, was formally proclaimed as King at the Accession Council held at St James's Palace. The Accession Council, the formal body that proclaims a new sovereign, acted two days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch.

For fans, this is the charm of the story. The paperwork slipped, and the audience did the proofreading.