5 cold ways Harry and Meghan will be treated differently to royals at Coronation
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been invited to attend King Charles' Coronation - but their experience will be very different to the rest of the Royal Family. Whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be part of the 2,000-strong congregation at Westminster Abbey has not yet been announced, but it's ben reported that Prince Archie and Princess LIlibet haven't made the cut. With relations between the couple and the Royal Family are at an all-time low, it's believed a number of the Sussex's demands must be met if they are to appear.
If they do decide to watch the ceremony in person, they will be treated differently to other royals and won't have a key role in the proceedings. They will also have to follow separate rules and wear different outfits.
Kneeling to the new King
King Charles wants both of his sons at his Coronation - but they will have very different roles. Buckingham Palace has said the carriage procession after the Coronation will be significantly smaller, and shorter, than the procession after Queen Elizabeth's coronation.
William will have a key role at Charles' Coronation (WireImage)
According to the rehearsal plans, as expected, neither the Duke and Duchess of Sussex nor the Duke of York will take part in the procession, as they are not working members of the royal family.
The same applies for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, but other members of the family such as the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will be involved. Prince William, as heir to the throne, will reportedly pay homage to his father the King during the ceremony. The Prince of Wales will kneel and pledge allegiance to Charles as well as touching the crown and kissing the monarch's right cheek, but Harry will not follow.
"With the exception of Prince William, at this Coronation peers of the realm will not be paying homage to the new King so it is unlikely that Harry will have to go down on bended knee," says author and historian Tessa Dunlop. As it stands, there is no role for Harry in the service at all.
Seating plan
Harry and Meghan may have got an invitation to the Coronation - but they may have got a better view watching at home. It's been reported that many members of the Firm are privately telling friends they will give the couple the "cold shoulder".
Harry and Meghan won't be sat in the front row (Getty Images)
And some are hoping they will have to sit far away from the rest of the Royal Family so they don't have to socialise.
A source, described as friend of the family by the Mail, told the paper: "They will be given the cold shoulder by very many relatives. One said to me, 'I hope they'll be seated in Iceland.' "Many of the family just want nothing more to do with them.
If they have to see them at the Coronation then so be it, but they do not want to socialise with them." At the late Queen's funeral, Harry and Meghan sat directly behind Charles and Camilla, in the second row next to Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
Balcony ban
Which members of the Royal Family get to appear on the famous Buckingham Palace balcony has always been a tricky subject. The Sussexes and their children were not present on the balcony for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations last summer, but the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children were.
Meghan and Harry won't be allowed on the balcony (Getty Images)
A source claims the Sussexes are asking Palace aides to include them on the balcony with the rest of the Royal Family once the King has been crowned to wave to the crowds.
The insider said: "Once the King has been crowned, there will be a Coronation procession that will start at Westminster Abbey and end at Buckingham Palace. Once the procession reaches the Palace, the King will take to the balcony and wave at the crowds with the rest of the royal family members and their children. "This is where Harry and Meghan have requested inclusion."
But it seems they won't be on the balcony along with other non-working royals, such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and the disgraced Prince Andrew. The King's siblings, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie Wessex do look set to make the cut. Do you think Harry and Meghan should appear on the balcony at the Coronation?
Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.
Children invited
The children of all the working royals are expected to attend the Coronation - but Harry and Meghan's kids are unlikely to be there. Despite being the grandchildren of the new King, it is believed that Archie and Lilibet have not been invited, with sources citing that the children are "very young". Charles' accession to the throne means the youngsters, who lives in California with Harry and Meghan, have taken up their titles as Prince and Princess but have not been asked to attend.
An insider told OK! that a major sticking point was how the Sussex children Archie, three, and one-year-old Lilibet were to be included on the day. But the source explained that their inclusion in the ceremony has "never been a bone of contention" because small children don't attend royal events of this scale "due to restlessness and tantrums".
Archie reportedly has not been invited (PA)
According to royal historian and author Dr Tessa Dunlop, it would be "odd" if Archie has not been invited to the event. She told True Royalty TV's The Royal Beat: "If you look at the footage of the 1953 Coronation, who was very prominent, albeit briefly?
Prince Charles. He was four. "Archie on his fourth birthday is definitely not too young to attend the Coronation.
And if you want Meghan there, you need to invite her son." Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven and Prince Louis, who turns five next month, are not only expected to attend the Coronation but will reportedly have starring role. They will join their grandfather and Queen Camilla as they leave the Abbey at the end of the ceremony - and George will most likely have a special role as he is heir to the throne.
The two brothers will be in frock coats and breeches, while Charlotte will likely wear a coronet, perhaps even the one the late Queen wore to her father's coronation aged 10.
Ceremonial outfits
Harry won't wear a ceremonial outfit like the rest of the family (Getty Images)
There is much discussion about whether the most senior royals - including the King and Queen - will wear the tradition, extravagant ceremonial robes.
The Queen wore them for her Coronation, but some insiders say Charles could wear military uniform instead. But if the Sussexes do attend, they won't have the option to potentially wear the robes. According to Dunlop, Harry and Meghan won't wear robes or a coronet, which is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring.
She told the Mirror: "In our changed times with a father-King who wants both his sons by his side, expect to see Harry there but minus a coronet and robe. "Likewise if Meghan attends, any Coronation finery will be entirely her own. Expect very few to stand on ceremony for the Duchess of Sussex."
They will be in very different attire to the Prince and Princess of Wales, who are the future King and Queen, and the other working royals. "In contrast history suggests working royals will stand out," explained Tessa. "In 1953 the Queen's sister Princess Margaret had her own coronation gown designed by Norman Hartnell, embroidered with roses and daisies and offset with a stunning Cartier tiara.
"She travelled to the Abbey with the Queen Mother and they sat in a box overlooking proceedings with a four-year-old Prince Charles squashed between them. "A similar scenario for the Princess of Wales and her three children is likely - William and his offspring are next in line to the throne and coronations deliberately emphasise the order of precedence and succession. "Like it or not this state occasion is all about royal hierarchy.
Visual messaging through both costume and carriage will remind us who the future King and Queen are (whether the Sussexes like it or not!)"