The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are facing a dilemma after reportedly being invited to stay at Frogmore Cottage for the Coronation of the King.
It emerged last week that Harry and Meghan have been asked to vacate the property following their move to the US and the publication of the duke’s controversial memoir Spare. But the King is now said to have offered them an olive branch by inviting them to his Coronation on May 6 and saying they can stay in their former home.
Harry has consistently expressed fears over the security his family receives when they visit the UK after they were stripped of their full Scotland Yard protection team detail. Frogmore is within the grounds of the Windsor estate and as such the Grade II listed cottage has full police protection.
The Sussexes have confirmed that their Coronation invitation has been received but have so far not revealed if they plan to attend — or stay at Frogmore. In a statement, a spokesman for the couple said Harry had “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 this time”.
The King is said to have told officials to give the Sussexes notice to quit the cottage and to move their belongings out the day after Harry’s autobiography was released. The book was critical of the royal family and alleged that Camilla, the Queen Consort, leaked stories to the press to boost her own image.
Harry also claimed the Prince of Wales physically “attacked” him in a row about Meghan and described William as his “arch-nemesis”. The Coronation falls on the same day as their son Archie’s fourth birthday, adding another factor to consider.
However, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline that the couple should attend the crowning or risk becoming “irrelevant”.
He said: “It has always been clear that King Charles would invite Harry and Meghan to the Coronation. As a symbol of national unity, he believes this is important.
“However their response is uncertain and raises an acute dilemma for them. On the one hand, they want discussions with senior royals and accountability for what they believe they went through when they were senior working royals. They believe that, together with the press, the royal family sought to drive them into exile. They want an apology. They will not get it.
“The Sussexes have contracts with Netflix, Spotify and Random House. They only have these because they are members of the royal family. If they did not attend this momentous event they will seem very out of touch.”
Harry stirred up more controversy over the weekend in an interview when he described the King as an “emotionally distant” father. The duke told Dr Gabor Maté that with his own children he was “trying to smother them with love”, adding: “I feel a huge responsibility not to pass on any trauma or negative experiences that I’ve had as a kid or as a man growing up.”
In the interview, which was streamed live and cost viewers £19, he claimed he and Meghan were trying to “break the pattern” of divorce and childhood trauma. He also shared that he had encouraged the royal family to have therapy so they could “speak his language”. Dr Maté diagnosed the prince as having attention deficit disorder following his tours of Afghanistan.
Harry added: “I was also a fantastic candidate for the military. In the UK we tend to recruit from broken homes — individuals that are ready for it.”
