12th April, 2023
By Nehru Odeh
Speculations about whether Prince Harry will attend his father’s coronation has been cleared.
Buckingham Palace has revealed that he will be at the King’s coronations but will not be accompanied by his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
It had been unclear before now whether he will attend or not.
He will join more than 2,000 guests at Westminster Abbey on 6 May for the coronation ceremony. Coincidentally, that day is also the fourth birthday of his son Archie.
According to the BBC, the reason Meghan will not attend has to do with ongoing, unresolved tensions between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Royal Family.
It will also be the first time Prince Harry will be seen with the Royal Family since the release of his best-selling memoir, Spare.
Spare vividly reveals tensions in the royal family. And Prince Harry has since the release of the book spoken of feeling “different” from the rest of his family.
Prince Harry’s book and an earlier Netflix series had highlighted worries about negative media coverage, particularly towards Meghan – and he had warned of a lack of support from his family.
Still, it remains to be seen what part Prince Harry will play in the coronation ceremony, as he is no longer a “working royal”. Prince Harry and Meghan did not take part in the traditional appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
It is expected that Prince William, as Prince of Wales, will have a prominent role in the coronation – and after Prince Harry’s dramatic account of their falling out there will be attention on the two brothers coming together again.
As well as the coronation service there is a long weekend of public events and concerts, which the Royal Family will be expected to attend.
Prince Harry made an unexpected appearance in London in March, when he attended a court hearing in a case against Associated Newspapers about allegations of privacy breaches, but he was not thought to have met his brother or father during the visit.