Prince Harry will attend the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Buckingham Palace has announced – but his wife Meghan Markle will stay at home in California with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
The news comes after months of speculation over whether the couple would attend the Saturday 6 May ceremony.
The Duke of Sussex has been seeking an apology from his family, according to his round of television interviews in January.
But despite insisting he wanted to reconcile with his father and brother, there has been no meaningful reunion with Charles and William since the many personal family revelations made in his memoir, Spare.
“Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that the Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on 6 May,” the royal statement said on Wednesday. “The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.”
Royal author Omid Scobie, tweeted: “I understand that Archie’s fourth birthday (also on 6 May) played a factor in the couple’s decision.”
He added: “Expect it to be a fairly quick trip to the UK for Prince Harry, who will only be attending the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey.”
Harry laid bare his grievances with the royal family in Spare, released in January, along with his and Meghan’s Netflix documentary series, Harry and Meghan.
The book broke records, becoming the fastest-selling non-fiction title upon its release, selling 1.4 million copies on the first day.
In March, the Duke made a surprise visit to the UK for a hearing at the High Court in London for his claim against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers, over allegations of unlawful information-gathering.
The publisher is seeking to end High Court claims brought by people including Harry, Sir Elton John and Baroness Doreen Lawrence over alleged unlawful activity at its titles.
It is alleged that the unlawful acts included hiring private investigators to secretly place listening devices inside cars and homes and the recording of private phone conversations.
The publisher hit back at the allegations, describing them at the time as “preposterous smears” and a “pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone-hacking scandal”.
Charles and Camilla’s coronation is being held at Westminster Abbey in London, with 2,000 guests expected to be in attendance. This comes in stark contrast to the 8,000 guests present at the Queen’s coronation in 1953.
Charles will turn 74 years old in November 2022, making him the oldest person to be crowned in British history.
