Prince Harry's 'Got a Problem' Ahead of the Coronation Because the …
After weeks of wondering will they or won't they, it was confirmed by the Palace that Prince Harry will attend King Charles III's coronation himself as his wife, Meghan Markle, will not make the trip. "Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that The Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on May 6th. The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet," the statement read. Some royal watchers have opined that Meghan decided to skip the event because she did not want to be booed by the British public and face the ire of Harry's family.
Now a former royal family employee has said that showing up at the affair won't be a picnic for the duke either because the Windors don't forgive and forget, they "hold a grudge."
Prince Harry attends the National Service of Thanksgiving for Queen's Elizabeth reign with wife Meghan Markle | ARTHUR EDWARDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Former butler believes Harry enjoyed playing game by not responding to invite earlier
Paul Burrell, who knows Prince Harry from his years working in his parents' household before becoming his mother's personal butler, was asked what he thought about the duke and Meghan making the family wait so long for a response. "They were keeping everyone guessing because it's part of what they do," Burrell said during an interview with Spin Genie. "Their only reason for surviving in the public eye is the fact they're royal and they are still on the edges of being royal because of Harry's connection with his family. That is their greatest asset and that's the one that they can use and tease because America loves our royal family and the minute Meghan and Harry aren't involved with our royal family at all, America might start to go a little bit cold on them because then they will look toward the core royals again instead of Harry and Meghan."
He added: "Harry might think 'it'll be a good thing if I go because then I've got more information to write in my next book.' I'm being cynical but nothing seems to be private [with the Sussexes]."
Burrell says the duke has a problem because the 'Windors don't forgive'
Prince Harry seated in the second row at the National Service of Thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth II's reign | PHIL NOBLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Burrell doesn't believe turning up at the coronation is going to be all smooth sailing for Harry when he faces his family given all that he's said about them in his book and the Netflix docuseries. According to the former butler, the Windors are an unforgiving bunch and "hold grudges." "Harry's got a problem because he's going to have to sit amongst family who he's pushed under the bus and criticized and what kind of reception is he going to get?
A very cold and icy one because the Windsors don't forgive, they do hold a grudge," Burrell explained. "The family do push people out on the margins if they don't conform and follow the party rules."
Why he thinks King Charles won't remove Meghan and Harry's titles
Another subject Burrell was asked about was if he thinks King Charles will take eventually take away Harry and Meghan's titles. "It's the king's decision," the former royal staffer stated, before adding, "He does not want to light a fire underneath Harry and Meghan. He doesn't want to light the blue touch paper and watch the fireworks go off.
The king is very careful, he has been very careful by handling Meghan and Harry the way he has. He sent them the invitations, he's kept the moral high ground and he's doing the right thing. I don't think he will take away their titles, I think other people want him to but other people didn't want him to invite them to the coronation.
"The king will do it his way, he has a very straight way of dealing with things and he knows his own mind. He's not being swayed or told by anybody what to do, it's his way. Charles has always been like that, he's always had his way and been very focused so no he won't take the titles.
He could have, or the late queen could've changed the rules so that Meghan and Harry's children weren't princes and princesses, but they didn't. They didn't mess with it because that would have been incendiary. That would've lit a blue touch paper too.
The king's matches are safely away in his pocket, he's not using them to light any fires.
He doesn't want any trouble around the coronation, much the same as the queen.
A smooth, smooth passage, as smooth as possible."