It’s been 70 years since the United Kingdom held a coronation to crown Queen Elizabeth II as the new leader of the monarchy, and we are less than a week away from what may be a once-in-a-lifetime event for many. King Charles III is set to officially inherit the crown on May 6; however, the behind-the-scenes drama between his younger son and the rest of the Royal Family threatens to overshadow the momentous event. While Prince Harry has confirmed that he’ll be in attendance for the Saturday ceremony, reports now say he won’t be sticking around London for long.
Prince Harry will be flying solo when he arrives in London for his father’s coronation this weekend, as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed a couple of weeks ago that Meghan Markle and their children would not be attending. Harry himself will only be in the country for about 24 hours, Deadline reports, departing just a couple of hours following King Charles III’s crowning.
The plan is for Harry to leave California on Friday, attend the service from 11 a.m to 1 p.m. London time, and then embark on the 10-hour flight home between 2 and 3 p.m. This would see him landing in California early Saturday evening.
The May 6 ceremony falls on the same day as Harry and Meghan’s son Archie’s 4th birthday, which is apparently why the Suits actress turned down the invitation (though some people including Meghan McCain aren’t buying the excuse). Prince Harry’s reported travel plans would allow him to support his father — albeit from the sidelines — and still make it back in time for Archie’s birthday.
In the months leading up to the coronation, there was much speculation about whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would accept King Charles’ invitation to the event. It was predicted that they would have specific instructions on what they could talk about and would not be part of some of the bigger moments of the ceremony, including appearing on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with the working members of the Royal Family.
The relationship between Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and his family was strained even before the couple stepped away from their royal duties in 2020 and moved to the United States. That tension has only grown, however, in the past six months, with the release of the couple’s docuseries Harry & Meghan and Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare.
The Duchess of Sussex’s half-sister Samantha Markle referred to the Netflix show as a “series of lies,” while Spare made a number of wild accusations against King Charles, Prince William, Kate Middleton and his stepmother Camilla, and while Prince Harry has expressed interest in reconciling with his father and brother, some believe he’s closer to being exiled for his recent actions.
In fact, when Prince Harry was in the country as part of another tabloid lawsuit in March, he did not meet with King Charles, or any other member of the Royal Family, for that matter. It was later said that his father was unable to find time to meet, but given recent events, many are skeptical of that reasoning.
If Harry will only be in London for a total of 24 hours for the coronation, one would wonder how much of that time he’ll spend with his family. Only time will tell if his presence, however short-lived, will make any headway in their healing.
