Buckingham Palace has announced that the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, will attend the coronation of King Charles III alone, as his wife Meghan, the Duchess of
Sussex, will stay in the US with their children. The coronation is set to take place on May 6th at Westminster Abbey and will be attended by more than 2,000 guests. This will be the first time Prince Harry has been seen with the Royal Family since the release of his memoir, "Spare". The book highlighted the depth of his disagreements with other members of the Royal Family and has since spoken of feeling "different" from the rest of his family.
Prince Harry and Meghan's decision not to attend the coronation will be seen as part of the ongoing, unresolved family tensions. The couple had been contacted via email over a month ago, prompting speculation about whether they would attend the ceremony. However, the announcement that Prince Harry will be attending the coronation means that King Charles will have both his sons present for the ceremony.
Prince Harry and Meghan issued a statement confirming that Prince Harry will attend the coronation, while the Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with their children. Supporters praised Meghan for standing up for herself, while opponents criticised her for "snubbing" her royal in-laws.
As Prince Harry is no longer a "working royal", it remains to be seen what part he will play in the ceremony. It is expected that Prince William, as Prince of Wales, will have a prominent role in the coronation. There will also be attention on the two brothers being seen together again after Prince Harry's dramatic account of their falling out in his memoir.
The Queen Consort's grandchildren will be among the children with roles at the coronation, and Buckingham Palace has said that after the event, it will be an "appropriate time" for her to be known as Queen Camilla. The coronation will be followed by a long weekend of public events and concerts that the Royal Family is expected to attend. However, it is not yet known how long Prince Harry will remain in the UK.
In March, Prince Harry made a surprise appearance in London, where he attended a court hearing in a case against Associated Newspapers regarding allegations of privacy breaches. However, he was not thought to have met his brother or father during the visit. Photo by DoD News, Wikimedia commons.