King Charles is set to be formally crowned on May 6th, but unlike Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953, school boards across Canada says they have no special plans or dedicated curriculum to mark the occasion.
Observers say beyond the apparent lack of pomp, there is a larger issue with Canadian schools' muted approach to the upcoming coronation.
Nathan Tidridge, vice-president of the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada says the coronation offers an occasion to inform students about the monarchy while still acknowledging mixed feelings about its place within Canadian society and governance.
He says Canadian schools are not taking advantage of the ``important moment'' that is the coronation.
Tidridge points out the event provides an opportunity to have conversations on things like colonial structures, Crown-Indigenous relationships and what the Crown does in Canada.
The curator of the York Region District School Board's heritage schoolhouse museum and archives says the board had special programming for Queen Elizabeth's coronation, as well as for her father King George's assumption of the throne in 1937.
Rebekah Mitchell says board records show throughout the 20th century, school closures were a tradition in York County for the coronation of a British monarch.
She adds students were expected to participate in the festivities, which included parades, choirs and drill demonstrations.