Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have officially received an invite to King Charles and Camilla’s coronation on May 6. The date lands on their son Archie’s birthday, though if the soon-to-be 4-year-old and his sister Lilibet are also invited to their grandfather’s big day has yet to be confirmed.
It’s safe to say that Harry & Meghan’s relationship with the Royal Family isn’t at its best. Through the Netflix show, the various interviews, and Harry’s book, Spare, much and more has been said about the likes of Prince William, Kate Middleton, King Charles and Camilla.
As a result, many are now speculating over the potential drama that might play out if Harry and Meghan attend the coronation. According to the Daily Mail, certain members of the Royal Family have already decided that they don’t want anything to do with the couple come May 6. Moreover, they them to sit as far away as possible.
King Charles, Camilla, the Queen Consort, Prince William, and Kate Middleton all received their fair share of criticism in Harry’s book, Spare. There has been speculation as to whether Prince Harry and Meghan would be invited to Charles’ coronation on May 6 or not, but last week, the matter was officially put to bed.
A spokesperson for the couple said: “I can confirm the duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty’s office regarding the coronation. An immediate decision on whether the Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at the time.”
While King Charles obviously wants his son to be there for his big day, their relationship seems to be in dire straights all the same. Not only that, but other members of the Royal Family appear to have made clear their feelings towards Harry and Meghan’s possible attendance at the coronation – and they are not happy.
Recently, a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan confirmed that they had been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage. King Charles is said to have decided to take away the Sussexes’ British base just days after the release of Harry’s memoir.
Harry & Meghan evicted from Frogmore Cottage
After their royal marriage in 2018, Harry and Meghan Markle lived at Kensington Palace briefly. However, that residence was Prince William and Kate Middleton’s home. The new couple then moved into Nottingham Cottage, and after a short stay, finally settled in Frogmore Cottage, on the grounds of Windsor Castle. As per reports, Frogmore was a wedding gift they received from the late Queen Elizabeth.
The couple renovated the royal estate, at a cost of around $3 million. When they stepped down from their royal roles, Harry and Meghan agreed to pay back the entire price tag to UK taxpayers. Even so, they permitted to keep Frogmore Cottage as their UK base when visiting.
It’s previously been reported that the royal estate has been the “only sufficiently secure refuge in the country” for Harry and Meghan since they stepped down from their royal duties, as they lost the benefit of police protection while on UK shores.
Now, though, things have taken a different turn. According to reports, King Charles made his mind up about the future of the property just one day after Harry’s book, Spare, was released.
A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan confirmed that the pair have now been evicted from Frogmore Cottage.
“We can confirm the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage,” the spokesperson told Vanity Fair.
The Sun reports that Prince Andrew was offered the option to move into Frogmore soon after Harry and Meghan were served an eviction notice from Buckingham Palace. The disgraced prince currently resides in a 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, where he has lived since 2003.
King Charles “spitting mad” with Harry’s book
According to The Sun, Andrew is “resisting” the King’s wish for him to move into Frogmore Cottage.
“This surely spells the end of Harry and Meghan’s time in the UK,” a royal source told The Sun.
There can be no question that King Charles and the other senior royals aren’t happy about Harry’s memoir and its content. As mentioned, Charles reportedly evicted his son and daughter-in-law just one day after Spare was released.
According to royal expert and author Omad Scobie, King Charles was “spitting mad” with Harry’s book, which undoubtedly played a role in his decision regarding Frogmore. The relationship between Harry and his family has also reached “an all-time low,” Scobie wrote.
Sources close to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle claimed the couple were left “stunned” by the decision.
“Harry and Meghan have until early summer to vacate,” a source told Scobie, reporting for Yahoo. “Initially, they were given just weeks, but now they have at least until after the coronation.”
“It all feels very final and like a cruel punishment,” a friend of Harry and Meghan’s added. “It’s like [the family] wants to cut them out of the picture for good.”
Will Harry and Meghan attend the coronation of King Charles?
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan are both invited to King Charles’s coronation. Now the question is whether or not their children, Archie and Lilibet, will be allowed to join their parents on the big day.
There have been several reports debating the possibility of Archie and Lilibet being invited. Royal expert Gareth Russell told US Weekly that King Charles has “made it really clear” that Harry and Meghan’s children will be welcome in London for the coronation.
However, other reports argue that the two won’t be invited, as aged just three and one, they are too young to attend. The same goes for Prince William and Kate Middleton’s youngest child, Prince Louis, while Camilla’s grandchildren are expected to attend to show “unity” between the families.
While it now appears that Harry and Meghan will get to choose if they will attend the coronation, there are also claims that they have other things to consider.
May 6 is a special day within the royal sphere, as it’s not only the coronation of King Charles and Camilla, but also the birth date of Harry and Meghan’s son, Archie.
A source told US site OK! that the Sussexes have asked for “some kind of celebration or acknowledgement” to be considered during the day to ensure Archie turning four years old won’t “get lost” during the coronation.
Moreover, since Harry and Meghan have been evicted from Frogmore Cottage, the couple are said to have requested that they be allowed to stay with Princess Eugenie and her family at Frogmore House.
“They want their children to spend time with other family members”
The couple were initially reportedly to have been offered an apartment at Buckingham Palace to stay at.
“They want their children to spend time with other family members, especially their cousin August who is around the same age as Lilibet. Both couples get on extremely well and are keen for their children to be close,” a source told OK!
Moreover, the source adds that Harry and Meghan reportedly want to be included when the Royal Family gather on the Buckingham Palace balcony on Coronation Day. Charles and Camilla will return to the Palace in a ceremonial procession known as “The Coronation Procession” after the coronation is finished at Westminister Abbey.
Naturally, this last claim is probably asking a bit much. During the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebration last year, Harry and Meghan were not present on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
As such, the Sussexes likely won’t be invited to make an official balcony appearance. According to royal expert Robert Hardman, author of Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II, the two will probably keep themselves in the background.
“This is not our show, it’s his show, we are here because that’s the sort of respect for a beautiful thing to do,” he told Page6. “Private family issues aside … that’s for another day.”
“Don’t forget, we kind of went through this last year with the Queen’s (Platinum) Jubilee,” he continued, adding that Harry and Meghan were “quite low-key” during that celebration.
Hardman added: “They didn’t seek to upstage the main event, they didn’t give any interviews, they didn’t have a Netflix crew following them up the aisle [at St. Paul’s Cathedral]. I think if they’re sensible, that’s how they’ll play it this time.”
Though King Charles wants his son to attend the coronation, it seems as though there are plenty of mixed feelings about it when it comes to certain other members of the Royal Family.
Royal family members ‘don’t want to socialize’ with Harry & Meghan at the coronation
Princess Eugenie has been known to have supported Harry and Meghan over the years. Reports claim she is the only royal who has visited them in their home in Montecito, California.
Harry and Meghan will likely spend a lot of time with Eugenie if they decide to attend the coronation, but it appears that other family members don’t want anything to do with them.
Speaking with the Daily Mail, a royal family friend said that Harry and Meghan would be given the “cold shoulder” by many relatives.
“One said to me, ‘I hope they’ll be seated in Iceland,’” the friend to the family said.
That’s hardly unsurprising given how critical Harry and Meghan have been of the Royal Family. When the couple left the UK for good – going on to be a part of the now-infamous Oprah interview – Meghan wasn’t no time in making a series of shocking claims. She said that an “unnamed royal” had asked about the then-unborn Archie’s potential skin color, adding that when she asked for help in the midst of a battle with poor mental health, the Duchess was met with silence.
Paul Burrell – who was Princess Diana’s former butler and friend – has suggested that the couple might not travel to the coronation together.
Speaking with Express, Burrell stated that it will be “incredibly uncomfortable” for Harry and Meghan to reunite with the Royal Family.
“I don’t think Meghan’s brave or strong enough to be there – she’d have to look in the eyes of a family she’s pushed under a bus,” he said.
“I think Harry may come alone, and she’s probably told him she won’t be able to be by his side with him if he does attend.”
