After several years of tension and private disagreements followed by one tell-all interview with Oprah, an unprecedented exclusive series with Netflix, and a bombshell memoir, King Charles is reportedly doing everything he can to sweeten the deal for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to attend his coronation in May.
According to The Mail on Sunday, Charles believes the absence of his youngest son would be more of a distraction than his presence at the coronation would be. Thus, the palace is allegedly offering Harry and Meghan a “high-profile seating position” and the promise that they can keep their titles as Duke and Duchess of Sussex as an “inducement” for the pair to publicly show their support of the new reign lead by Charles.
Meanwhile, The Sun reports that an option called “Harry in a Hurry” is also on the table for the coronation. The ceremonial date happens to fall on the same day as Prince Archie’s fourth birthday, and the “Harry in a Hurry” plan involves Harry attending the coronation in a 48-hour round-trip without Meghan, who would stay in North America with their two children.
Prince William allegedly has his own role to play in convincing Prince Harry to attend the coronation, despite his anger over the “disloyalty” he feels Harry has shown toward the royal family. Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told The Daily Express, “I would be surprised if [Charles and William] were not working in tandem to ensure that if the Sussexes do come — and we have no way of knowing if they will — they are controlled. This worked during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and also during the period of the Queen’s funeral.”
A senior source close to Lambeth Palace told The Mail, “Harry’s camp made clear that the idea that he would just attend the Coronation and behave himself but then be stripped of his titles was a total non-starter. While he might decide at some point to discard his titles of his own volition, he objects to the idea of being forcibly stripped of them. He resents being lumped together with Andrew in the public mind as the two ‘problem Princes’ when he considers the circumstances to be totally different.”
Prince Harry personally spoke of the coronation and larger state of the family during an ITV interview in January, explaining, “There’s a lot that can happen between now and then. But the door is always open. The ball is in their court. There’s a lot to be discussed, and I really hope that they’re willing to sit down and talk about it.”
It should be noted that both Lambeth Palace and Buckingham Palace declined to comment, a source close to Prince William said they were not aware of any coronation negotiations, and Prince Harry’s representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
With Harry’s repeated accusations toward the media for stirring up trouble and drama where there is none, the various claims about coronation negotiations could be just that — claims. Only time will truly tell where the family stands, and May 6 will be here before we know it.
Click here to see a complete timeline of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s feud with the royal family.
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