ROYAL FAMILY
Prince Harry keeps his distance at coronation ceremony
Prince Harry attended King Charles III’s coronation alone, as his wife Meghan Markle remained in California.
King Charles III has officially been crowned the King of England, in a coronation ceremony with hundreds of guests present, including the king’s youngest, estranged son, Prince Harry.
After months of back and forth about whether Prince Harry would attend the coronation alone, or with his wife, Meghan Markle, the prince ultimately appeared alone, and only for a brief time.
As a non-working royal, Prince Harry had no role to play in Saturday’s proceedings and appeared largely to support his father. While he showed his respects to his father as he watched him crowned king, the prince quickly made his exit as soon as the ceremony ended.
Prince Harry’s role in the ceremony
Prince Harry was seated in the third row of the ceremony, between Princess Eugenie’s husband, Jack Brooksbank, and Princess Alexandra, and two rows behind his eldest brother Prince William, his sister-in-law Kate Middleton, and their children Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte.
The non-working royal prince also did not have any ceremonial duties and was barred from wearing the ceremonial robes worn by his eldest brother. Instead, he wore a morning suit, as requested by Buckingham Palace, however, he was still able to show off his military medals.
Harry did not appear at the coronation lunch that he was reportedly invited to. He was seen getting into a car as soon as the ceremony wrapped up.
No familial reconciliation with the senior royals
Although he appeared to have a good time with his cousins Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice and their husbands, he did not have any interactions with his eldest brother or his father.
Today’s ceremony was also the first time that Prince Harry had seen much of his family since the publication of his memoir ‘Spare’ earlier this year and since the release of the ‘Harry & Meghan’ Netflix documentary.
And as a non-working royal, Prince Harry also was not invited to appear with his family as they stood on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the coronation.
Prince Harry is returning to California to celebrate Archie’s birthday
As the coronation ceremony took place on the same day as his son Archie’s fourth birthday, Prince Harry is reportedly already on his way back to the sunshine state to celebrate.
His wife, Meghan Markle, who opted not to attend the coronation ceremony, which many believed was a “wise decision”, stayed behind to prep for the birthday.