New James Bond book will celebrate King Charles’ coronation

James Bond has a new mission: Saving the Coronation of King Charles III.

“Young Bond” series author Charlie Higson has been commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications to write a new book in honor of King Charles’ coronation.

“On His Majesty’s Secret Service” will be published May 4, ahead of the coronation on May 6. The publication comes 60 years after Fleming’s 10th novel, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” in 1963.

The new 007 story is set in the present day, following Bond as he is “sent at the last minute to thwart an attempt to disrupt the coronation by the wealthy, eccentric and self-styled Athelstan of Wessex, who is on a deadly mission of his own to teach the United Kingdom a lesson,” according to Ian Fleming Publicans.

Bond has to dismantle Athelstan of Wessex’s shady plans and defeat his privately hired team of mercenaries.

All royalties from the sale of the book will support the work of the UK charity, the National Literacy Trust, an independent charity that works to improve literacy levels and skills for disadvantaged children.

Higson has written five books for the “Young Bond” series, which follows Bond’s time at Eton College in the 1930s.

“When Ian Fleming Publications came to me with the idea of writing an adult Bond story a little more than a month ago I was thrilled – until I realized it had to be ready for the coronation in May,” Higson said in a statement. “Getting it written and turned around in such a short space of time was going to be as tense and heart-pounding as any Bond mission. Although, of course, nobody would actually be shooting at me.”

He continued, “But I’ve been thinking about writing an adult Bond adventure ever since working on the Young Bond books, and he came bursting out of me with both fists flying. It was all I could do to keep up with him and get his story down on paper. Fleming famously wrote fast, and I channeled that energy. And now it’s so exciting for me to finally enter the world of grown-up Bond.”

Higson added that the story has everything James Bond fans could want, including “sex, violence, cars, a colorful villain with a nasty henchman, and of course, Bond himself, so well-known and yet so unknowable.”

Ian Fleming’s Publicans is celebrating 70 years of 007 this year with many events and occasions planned, including a release of the Bond books under its own imprint on April 13.

Managing director of Ian Fleming Publications Corinne Turner shared, “The coronation of King Charles III is a momentous occasion for the country. We asked ourselves how we at Ian Fleming Publications could celebrate it, and the answer seemed obvious.”

“Ian Fleming’s ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ was first published on April 1. 1963. What better way, 60 years on, to mark this new chapter in history than with a brand new story: ‘On His Majesty’s Secret Service’? We shared our thoughts with Charlie, and he was delighted to take on the challenge of writing a Bond adventure in time for publication in May.”