King Charlies' coronation: Prince Harry to attend ceremony without …
Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size
London: Prince Harry will attend his father's coronation next month at Westminister Abbey but will travel to Britain without his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and their two children. The pair's attendance had been subject to weeks of speculation following their Netflix documentary, the release of Harry's memoir Spare in early January and a string of television interviews which deepened rifts in his family.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex in June 2022.
Harry has confirmed he will travel to the UK alone for his father's coronation.Credit: AP
In a statement on Wednesday (UK time), Buckingham Palace confirmed the duke would join more than 2000 guests at the service on May 6, including public figures, world leaders and 450 representatives of charities and community groups. "The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet," the Palace said. It was revealed earlier this month the pair had received an invitation to attend the traditional crowning ceremony, but all parties had remained silent on whether they would attend.
Several leading British media outlets quoted insiders saying Harry was acutely aware that the historic occasion would be "pretty much the most important day" of the King's life and a key factor in the decision was fear of regret. The Sussex children were not formally invited to the coronation as palace aides waited to hear if they would make the trip before factoring them into any plans. Their cousin Prince George, 9, will be one of the King's pages of honour and it is understood that his siblings, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, who will be five on April 23, will take part in the procession, leaving the abbey at the end of the service.
AdvertisementHarry attended Prince Philip's funeral by himself in April 2021, while Meghan was pregnant with the couple's second child.
The King's coronation is the same day as Archie's fourth birthday, which was reported to be a factor in her decision. Charles has met his granddaughter just once when the couple briefly returned to the UK to attend a service of thanksgiving for the late Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee in June. Meghan has not returned to the UK since Queen Elizabeth's funeral in September last year and media reports have quoted her friends as saying the 41-year-old considers her future to be in the US where the Sussexes based themselves in Montecito, California.
King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla in their first portrait since his ascension.Credit: Hugo Burnand/BP
Harry's presence at Westminster Abbey will see him join his closest family members for the first time since the funeral.
He is not expected to stand alongside the family on the palace balcony as he is no longer a working royal. He was understood to have been holding out for an apology that he asked of his family via several television interviews in January, when he insisted he wanted to reconcile with the King and his brother William, the Prince of Wales. Both the King and William are said to have felt deeply betrayed by the many personal family revelations the duke made in his memoir and in various interviews.
It has been reported that Harry has had little or no direct communication with his father since grandmother's funeral, while relations with his brother, William, are said to be at an even lower ebb. In his book, Harry said: "I love my mother country and I love my family and I always will. I just wish, in the second-darkest moment of my life, they'd both been there for me."
The King was reported to have been too busy to see his son earlier this month when he made a surprise visit to the UK to attend a High Court hearing concerning his claim against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what's making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
Rob Harris is Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.