Why Prince Louis suddenly disappeared from the King's coronation

King Charles' coronation viewers have flocked to social media in a panic after Prince Louis suddenly disappeared from the service.

The youngest of the Prince and Princess of Wales' children was spotted at Westminster Abbey attending his grandfather's coronation service today (6 May).

The five-year-old walked into the service hand-in-hand with his elder sister Princess Charlotte, following closely behind their mother and father.

However, after appearing next to his mother, father and sister in the seated area of the abbey to bash out a few hymns, Prince Louis seemed to suddenly disappear from sight, leaving viewers at home baffled and rather concerned about his whereabouts.

People flocked to social media in a flurry, questioning where the young member of the royal family could have gone.

One Twitter user said: "Is anyone else wondering where Prince Louis has disappeared to? Did they take him out before he stole the limelight? #Coronation."

"Don’t want to alarm anyone but Prince Louis seems to have gone missing. #Coronation," another wrote.

A third commented: "Where is #PrinceLouis? #Coronation."

And a final resolved: "Where's #PrinceLouis gone?"

BBC

Thankfully, the explanation is really rather simple - Prince Louis is only little, he gets tired, and what five-year-old is likely to sit peacefully through a two-hour service? The answer is: Not many.

And with Prince Louis having gained quite the reputation for getting ants in his pants and being a bit cheeky at times - pulling funny faces at the crowds during Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee - it may have been easier for the Prince and Princess of Wales to give him a breather from some of the formalities.

ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship also reassured viewers at home: "Hello from Prince Louis. At age five, we are told he will be seated and then 'retire' for a while during the two-hour service #Coronation."

And it turns out Prince Louis needing a quick break from the coronation chimed with many other people getting involved in this long weekend's celebrations.

One user said: "Think we all maybe should..."

"I don't think I can do two hours either," another wrote.

A third simply stated: "Same."

BBC

Prince Louis didn't attend his great grandmother's state funeral at Westminster Abbey last year.

The Princess of Wales explained that he'd been struggling to come to terms with the loss - he was only four years old when Queen Elizabeth II passed away.

The young member of the royal family reportedly questioned whether he could continue to play certain games when visiting Balmoral, realising things may be very different because his great grandmother would no longer be there.