The report Queen Camilla wants her five grandchildren to play an active role during the Coronation ceremony on May 6 may “ruffle feathers in Montecito”, a commentator has claimed. Royal expert Camilla Tominey suggested the Duke of Sussex may feel further “forced out” by the Crown if the children of Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes will indeed be key during the historic service at Westminster Abbey.
She wrote in the Telegraph: “What might this mean for frosty royal relations with Harry and Meghan? With the couple set to be invited to the long bank holiday weekend of celebrations, but with no word yet on whether they will actually attend, the move to include some grandchildren but not others is likely to ruffle feathers in Montecito.
“Harry already felt forced out by the late Queen and his father seemingly prioritising public appearances with William and George to his own immediate family.
“What he is likely to make of the Parker Bowles clan being front and centre is anyone’s guess (although he is said to get on well with his stepsiblings Tom and Laura, who were both invited to the royal wedding in 2018).”
Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand claimed in their unofficial but flattering biography of the Sussexes, Finding Freedom, Meghan and Harry saw “yet another sign” they had to consider splitting from the Royal Family in December 2019, when Queen Elizabeth II did not display a picture of them on her desk while delivering her Christmas broadcast.
Writing in their book first released in August 2020, the authors claimed: “Harry felt as though he and Meghan had long been sidelined by the institution and were not a fundamental part of its future.
“One didn’t have to look further than the family photos displayed during the Queen’s Speech on Christmas Day.
“In the Green Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, where the Queen delivered her address, viewers glimpsed photos of the Cambridges and their children, Charles and Camilla, Prince Philip, and a black-and-white image of the sovereign’s father, King George VI.
“Noticeably absent was a photo of Harry, Meghan, and their new baby, Archie.
“Palace sources insisted that the photos were chosen to represent the direct line of succession, but for Harry and Meghan, it was yet another sign that they needed to consider their own path.”
The book included a source claiming that now King Charles had “always included” his second son and his wife in his vision of the streamlined monarchy he would eventually lead and protect.
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