King Charles' coronation: Prince Harry to attend without Meghan

Key Points

Prince Harry will be attending the coronation of his father, Charles III, in London without his wife, Meghan Markle.
Prince Harry's presence has been considered particularly sensitive since the publication of his memoir Spare in January.
The day King Charles is officially crowned king coincides with Prince Archie's fourth birthday.

Prince Harry will attend the coronation in London of his father King Charles III but without his wife Meghan Markle, Buckingham Palace announced.The announcement follows weeks of uncertainty over the presence of Prince Harry and Ms Markle, who have launched a barrage of criticism of the British royal family since announcing they were quitting royal duties in early 2020."Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that the Duke of Sussex will attend the coronation service at Westminster Abbey on 6th May," a palace statement said, using Harry's official title.

"The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet."

The day of the coronation, which formally sees King Charles being crowned, falls on Prince Archie's fourth birthday.

Prince Harry's trip to the UK will be brief and he will not be attending any other coronation-related events, sources told the domestic PA news agency.

Tell-all memoir

The delay by Prince Harry and Ms Markle in replying to the invitation had reportedly caused difficulties for organisers given the security considerations for an event due to be attended by numerous foreign dignitaries and heads of state.Prince Harry's attendance is seen as particularly sensitive since the publication of his blockbuster memoir Spare in January.

In the explosive autobiography, the 38-year-old prince claimed his elder brother Prince William attacked him during an argument about Ms Markle, an American former television actress.

A man with grey hair wearing a puffer jacket stands with his back turned in front of a display window advertising Prince Harry's memoir, Spare.

The royal tell-tale memoir became the fastest-selling non-fiction title in UK publishing history with 400,000 hardback copies selling on its first day, following its January release. Source: Getty / Richard Baker

It followed a string of high-profile interviews and a six-hour Netflix docu-series in which the couple repeatedly criticised the royals.In comments that were widely seen as damaging to the monarchy, Ms Markle, who is mixed race, also told US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey in 2021 there had been comments made before Prince Archie's birth about the colour of his skin.

The claim prompted William to furiously respond that the royals were "very much not a racist family".

Despite the tensions, King Charles had reportedly been keen for his younger son to be at the coronation.The couple has made infrequent visits to the UK since relocating to the United States, including for the funeral of Prince Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II in September.

But tensions were visible when Prince Harry and Ms Markle joined Prince William and his wife Kate on a joint walkabout at Windsor Castle to review floral tributes for the late monarch.

Four people walk alongside each other outside gates, two women in black dresses and two men in suits.

Prince William and Catherine, accompanied by Prince Harry and Meghan, arrive to view floral tributes to Queen Elizabeth II laid outside Cambridge Gate at Windsor Castle following her death in September 2022. Source: Getty / Mark Kerrison

King Charles, who ascended to the throne upon his mother's death, will be formally crowned king in a pomp-filled ceremony attended by 2,000 people and watched by a worldwide television audience.The celebrations for the first coronation since 1953 will feature a star-studded concert with Kylie Minogue and Lionel Richie reportedly set to perform.

A nationwide Big Lunch and volunteering initiative, as well as the traditional ceremony and royal processions, are also planned.