A royal secret Down Under? UK's 'real king' receives invitation to Charles' coronation

Who knew that the only Australian citizen to be invited to King Charles III's coronation apparently has the potential to "inherit" the very throne that the 73-year-old monarch will officially claim this Saturday? 

Meet Simon Abney-Hastings, a resident of Wangaratta and the 15th Earl of Loudoun. Most of the people in the small Victorian town are unaware of who he really is. But far, far away at London's Westminster Abbey, his presence is crucial. According to The Guardian, Abney-Hastings is one of the 13 people who have been selected to play a major ceremonial role as the King gets crowned on May 6.

In a post on Facebook, he told his over 900 followers that he was "delighted and sincerely honoured to accept the invitation by the Crown to perform the Bearer of the Great Golden Spurs". The great golden spurs is an ancient royal tradition that dates back to the 1189 coronation of Richard I. It represents knighthood and involves a Tudor rose and a red velvet-covered strap that is tied or touched to the sovereign's feet and then placed on an altar.

Through his grandmother, 48-year-old Simon Abney-Hastings is a descendant of George Plantagenet, the brother of the kings of England, Edward IV and Richard III. According to some royal experts and historians, Edward was illegitimate, so George should have received the inheritance as the eldest legitimate son.

Simon's royal lineage

Years ago, a Channel 4 documentary shed light on how Simon Abney-Hastings' father Michael was the eldest heir of George Plantagenet, and therefore, the true king of England. Simon's private secretary Terence Guthridge recently echoed the same belief, and asserted that “as a direct descendant of George Plantagenet, Simon Abney-Hastings has a right to inherit the throne of England".

He further revealed that the earl strongly supported the late Queen Elizabeth II and even exchanged "birthday or Christmas cards each year” with her. But despite his close ties with the royals, he does not wish to claim the throne in any way. Abney-Hastings prefers to lead a modest life, so much so that back home, the mayor of Wangaratta found out about him only recently. “We certainly did not know that we had an earl – what is he, the 15th Earl of Loudon? He keeps a very low profile," Mayor Dean Rees said of the earl.