Harry and Meghan ‘definitely invited to coronation’ says expert
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have given no inclination of whether they will or won’t attend the Coronation of King Charles III, due to take place on May 6. Since the revelations made in their six-part Netflix documentary, and the brutal honesty delivered by Harry in his memoir, reports have suggested that the Royal Family have concerns about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attending Charles’s big day. Despite this, it is widely understood that Harry and Meghan have been invited to the event and, according to some royal commentators, the US-based couple would “regret” not jetting across the pond to see the King crowned.
Russell Myers and Zoe Forsey, co-hosts of the Pod Save The King podcast, discussed Harry and Meghan’s potential reunion with the royals on their most recent episode.
Speaking last week, Mr Myers said there has been “lots of talk that the Royal Family expect them to come,” adding: “They will obviously be invited — the King wouldn’t be so churlish to not invite them — but I am told from people who are very close to the Sussexes that they are still undecided about coming.”
He continued: “I definitely think they will come,” asking: “Why would they want to pass up the opportunity?”
The Daily Mirror’s royal editor recalled, however, a conversation he had with an insider who claimed “nothing has changed” for the Duke since he sat down for several media interviews last month.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may choose to stay in the US instead of attending the event (Image: Getty)
Harry sat down for several TV interviews last month (Image: Getty)
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Harry insisted he wanted a sit-down conversation with his family, specifically his brother and father, to address the tensions between him and his wife and the rest of the Royal Family.
“He wants apologies, he wants reconciliation or at least willingness to reconcile,” Mr Myers explained. “And while that isn’t forthcoming, nothing has changed.”
He added: “But, as far as I’m aware, they still haven’t a summit [or] those serious conversations about everything. And I don’t think they will be too forthcoming before the Coronation…But I definitely think they will come. I can’t imagine for a second that they would pass up the opportunity to be at such an event.”
Ms Forsey agreed, saying: “Regardless of what the tensions are now, it’s such a historic event… If they don’t go, they will always have that regret that they weren’t a part of it.”
Tensions supposedly remain between Harry and his royal relatives (Image: Getty)
Their comments come after reports suggested that the Duke and Duchess would not attend the Coronation if they were greeted with the same awkward tension as the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June and her funeral in September.
Mr Myers argued: “That puts them in a pretty awkward position because I reckon it is going to be the same. There are several members of the family who are still very, very deeply hurt and think that Harry and Meghan shouldn’t be at the Coronation. They don’t want them there because they think it will just turn into a complete circus.”
The commentator recounted the day of Queen Elizabeth’s death when several members of the Royal Family travelled together to be with Her Majesty at Balmoral.
While Prince William, Prince Edward, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Prince Andrew all flew on the RAF jet, Harry was “forced to travel alone”.
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Meghan and Harry are reportedly nervous about ‘awkward tension’ (Image: Getty)
In his memoir, Harry explained he chartered a plane out of Luton having heard nothing from his older brother. He wrote: “As the plane began its descent, my phone lit up. A text from Meg. Call me the moment you get this. I checked the BBC website. Granny was gone.”
Upon arriving at Balmoral, the Prince was greeted by his aunt Princess Anne. According to the book, Harry did not see his brother or father during his brief trip to the Scottish residence, and he and William “barely” exchanged a word during the funeral.
Mr Myers said: “There were absolutely no pleasantries from his family. And this is before the book so how can it not be the same? They don’t want to welcome him with open arms. There are people who are very, very wary of Harry and Meghan.
“And so the issue still remains. If there is a cooling of tensions, I don’t think it’s going to be anytime soon. So Harry might have to just suck it up and get used to it.”
The Sussexes attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September (Image: Getty)
While Mr Myers is almost certain the Sussexes will attend the King’s Coronation, others are not so sure.
Richard Fitzwilliams, royal expert and commentator, suggested Harry may choose to stay at home to avoid further public ridicule.
As it is well-documented, snippets from Spare raised a few eyebrows, with many questioning why the Prince chose to share such intimate information, notably his suffering of a frostbitten penis following a trip to the North Pole.
More recently, he and Meghan were the subject of a satirical episode of South Park during which ‘the Prince and Princess of Canada’ attempted to escape the limelight.
Harry’s book was published in January and revealed intimate details about his life (Image: PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE/RAMONA ROSALES)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were the targets of a recent satirical South Park episode (Image: COMEDY CENTRAL)
The episode poked fun at the prince’s book titled Waaagh and saw the couple go on a ‘Worldwide Privacy Tour’ to insist they wanted to live a life away from the spotlight.
Mr Fitzwilliams told the MailOnline: “A lot of people have been laughing at them. Harry’s revelations about losing his virginity, experiences with drugs and penile frostbite have given rise to much mirth. Viewers of South Park have seen their desire for privacy mercilessly mocked and with reason.”
Moreover, the commentator said Harry’s security concerns may influence his decision. He explained: “Harry’s concerns over security, which will not be helped by his revelations about the number of Taliban insurgents he personally killed, may also be a factor as he has a case pending against the Home Office on this issue.”
It is thought that confirmation of Harry and Meghan’s attendance will not be announced until much closer to the date of the Coronation.
