The A-Listers Who Declined To Perform At King Charles III's Coronation

Oh, how times have changed. In 2022, several artists were raving over the opportunity to perform at Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. The lineup included big names like Alicia Keys, George Ezra, Diana Ross, Elton John, Andrea Bocelli, and even the band Queen accompanied by Adam Lambert, to name a few. "I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to be part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee concert, what an incredible honor to be asked," George Ezra said at the time, with Diana Ross saying she was "absolutely delighted to receive an invitation to perform on such a momentous and historic occasion."

Flash forward to King Charles III's coronation concert and the attitude towards the palace seemed to have made a complete 180. Several A-list stars asked to perform at the coronation concert politely declined, leaving palace officials scrambling to find suitable replacements. The interesting part? When Rolling Stone reached out to said artists' teams for comment, none of them had anything to say. Simon Jones, PR to Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Little Mix, told Rolling Stone that the royal family's recent bad publicity is to blame for the coronation conundrum. "Anyone performing at the show would have to consider whether there would be a backlash from appearing amongst their fans," Jones revealed. Here's who said no.

It's no secret that Elton John is a royal family favorite — he delivered a moving performance at Princess Diana's funeral, performed at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, and made an appearance at Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee in 2022, to name just a few. Needless to say, whenever there's a royal event going on, people expect John to make an appearance. But King Charles III's coronation concert was an exception.

An inside source told The Sun that John was one of the king's top choices, and while other artists have been pretty tight-lipped about why they declined to perform at the coronation concert, John's team revealed to Rolling Stone that, yes, he was asked to perform at the ceremony, but his schedule simply didn't line up. "Due to his European tour, which sees him performing in Germany the Friday before then again soon after the Windsor concert, he isn't able to make the dash to the U.K. work," The Sun's inside source claimed.

It's no secret that the world adores former One Direction boy band member Harry Styles, but we'll admit we're surprised that King Charles III is apparently a fan. Or perhaps he was simply trying to attract a bigger crowd at the coronation ceremony. Unfortunately for the king, Styles had other plans on May 7, and so did his band, apparently. An inside source told The Sun that Styles' tour was one of the reasons he declined. They also mentioned that he couldn't get "key band members together as they'll be on much-needed downtime."

The Spice Girls are basically British legends and have performed at a number of royal events in the past, so it was quite shocking when they too declined the invite to perform at King Charles III's coronation concert. Their reason for declining the invite? Their calendars were simply overflowing and they couldn't squeeze in any rehearsal time, an inside source told The Sun. What exactly the group was up to is unclear, since they weren't currently on tour.

The Spice Girls has quite a bit of history with the royals. Back in 1997, they met then-Prince Charles for the first time when they were part of the lineup for the royal gala performance in honor of the Prince's Trust Charity. Mel B and Geri Halliwell made history when they threw all caution to the wind and kissed Charles on the cheek. Halliwell took it even further, telling Charles that he was "very sexy" before proceeding to pinch his butt — royal protocol be damned. Halliwell later said she only gave the prince an affectionate pat. Charles remained a fan, however, and met up with the group again in South Africa later that year. "It is the second greatest moment in my life," Charles said at the time, adding, "The greatest was the first time that I met them." Clearly, he loved the group's playful spirit, and it's a shame they won't be performing at the coronation concert, to be quite honest.

In another unexpected turn of events, Kylie Minogue declined the invitation to perform at the coronation concert as well. According to the Daily Mail, a source close to Minogue revealed that she was told her performance at the coronation event might not sit well with her country. "Kylie has been an honorary Brit for many, many years, and admires the royal family and everything that they do. But she is also a passionate Australian and has read the room in a country that could very soon become a republic," the source claimed.

Minogue has brushed shoulders with the royal family before, most notably when she performed at Queen Elizabeth II's 92nd birthday celebration in 2018. Minogue was fond of the queen and took to Twitter after the monarch's death to write a touching tribute. "The occasions I had the honour of being in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, her energy, compassion and aura had a most singular brilliance. I was, and am, in awe. My deepest condolences to family and friends. Rest in Peace," Minogue wrote.

It's likely that the decision to decline the coronation invite wasn't one Minogue made lightly — per the Daily Mail, there was plenty of back and forth, and Minogue eventually decided that staying home was the best decision.

In another devastating blow, the Daily Mail confirmed, Adele wouldn't be performing at the coronation concert either. The singer said she was busy, but didn't elaborate, and she even had openings on her calendar. Oof!

It's hard to believe that Adele has any beef with the royals, however. In 2013, she accepted an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II, and it was presented to her by none other than King Charles III. There didn't seem to be any ongoing drama between them at the time, but a lot of time has passed since, and many are wondering if the royal family's strained relationship with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has anything to do with it. Why? Because when Adele did 73 Questions with Vogue in 2021, she was asked to choose between Prince Harry and Prince William, and she immediately chose Harry without blinking. Might she be just a little salty about how the palace treated the prince and his wife? Who knows.

A superfan of Adele's, Grace Martha, told Rolling Stone she thinks the coronation ceremony and all it stands for went against Adele's values. She claims that the singer is proud to come from a working-class background and that ordinary people can identify with her because of it. "The pomp and money this coronation is costing doesn't represent her values at all," Martha added.

With stars like Elton John, Harry Styles, and Adele saying no thank you to performing at the coronation concert, having superstar Ed Sheeran also declining the invite must have been a massive blow. At least there wasn't a glaring gap in Sheeran's tour schedule on coronation day. He took the stage in Arlington, Texas, on May 6, 2023, and while he might be able to do the impossible in the music charts, even he can't be in two places at once. Some insiders, however, told the Daily Mail that Sheeran could have hopped on a private plane and made it in time for the coronation concert on May 7. 

Sheeran has a few royal performances under his belt — in 2012 he joined an impressive lineup for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, and 2014's Royal Variety Performance saw him take to the stage once again. In 2022, he was also part of the Platinum Jubilee lineup. A source told the Daily Mail that Charles was "very keen" for Sheeran to be part of the coronation concert, but a representative for Sheeran told Metro in February that the palace had not contacted Sheeran's team to arrange any sort of performance for the coronation concert. So did he decline, or did the palace not contact him after seeing his tour schedule? We'll probably never know.