Sweet Dreams: Should King Charles be going to bed early the night before the coronation?

Although it is certainly not the night before Christmas, there is something about the quote “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse,” that couldn’t be more appropriate for the night before the coronation. The word Christmas just has to be substituted for coronation and perhaps the mouse should be switched to Harry, Duke of Sussex?

It has not been confirmed as yet the time Prince Harry will arrive at the coronation. However, considering he is planning to fly back in time for his son Prince Archie’s fourth birthday, it is likely that he will arrive this afternoon to get a good night’s sleep before the big day ahead.

If he does arrive this afternoon, perhaps he will take the opportunity to speak to his father ahead of the momentous occasion, and perhaps get an hour or two by the time he's settled at Frogmore Cottage to have a chat before King Charles III turns in for an early night ahead of his big day.

Although King Charles has reportedly told his aides he will not be ‘working’ beyond 6pm on Friday 5 May, he has an incredibly busy day ahead of him, so it is going to be ‘difficult’ for him to sneak off early. 

After all, he is hosting a reception for Commonwealth leaders during the day, and Buckingham Palace will host a dinner for leaders in the evening. According to the Daily Mail, “As the King prepares for a scaled-back coronation compared to Queen Elizabeth’s ceremony hosting 8,000 guests at Westminster Abbey in 1953, it has been decided that there will not be a Commonwealth banquet held the night before the big day.”

So the question is; if King Charles does go to bed early, will he actually sleep, and could it be counter productive?

I spoke to Sam Sadighi, Certified Sleep Practitioner of Easy Sleep Solutions to get her thoughts on the matter. “It could well be that he will struggle to get off to sleep as he will have things on his mind,” she revealed.  “As long as he has a good wind down routine, and that everything in his control is ready for the next day, an early night is a good idea as he will be cognitively sharp for the proceedings. If one doesn’t have enough sleep, one is physically, mentally and emotionally less able to cope with things.”

When I asked Sam what happens if you go to bed and can’t sleep, this is what she said. “If one does go to bed and can’t sleep, try some kind of distraction, like read a book or listen to some music. Although it is hard, try and not to worry about things that haven’t happened yet. If one does go regularly to bed at the same time every night, your body clock gets used to that. You can't force sleep as much as you want to and that’s where often problems arrive, and that forms sleep anxiety.”

Sam then went on to say that “Although an early night is a good idea for King Charles, he should only go to bed when he actually feels tired, or it could be counterproductive.”

Mmm, we shall have to wait in the morning to see if King Charles looks like he has had a good night’s sleep. Here’s hoping he does…