The Duke of Sussex is to attend his father’s coronation, but without the Duchess of Sussex or their two children.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that the Duke of Sussex will attend the coronation service at Westminster Abbey on 6 May. The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.”
The announcement ends weeks of speculation about whether Harry and Meghan would accept an invitation to attend. Sources indicated that the fact the coronation is on Prince Archie’s fourth birthday played a part in the duchess’s decision to remain.
Harry will join more than 2,000 guests at Westminster Abbey. It will be the first time he will have been seen in public with other royals, including his brother, the Prince of Wales, since publication of his book.
While Harry is expected to play no formal role, William will play a prominent part in the coronation, with Prince George, aged nine, also confirmed as one of the king’s pages of honour for the ceremony.
It is not known if Harry will attend any other coronation-related events over the long weekend, including concerts, which the royal family are expected to attend.
Relations between the Sussexes and the palace are strained after the publication of Harry’s memoir Spare in January, in which he was critical of members of the royal family and the institution.
Sources had indicated that King Charles’s invitation to attend was for the duke and duchess. The fact that Meghan has chosen to stay away may be interpreted by some as an indication of continuing tensions between the couple and the palace.
As the Sussexes are no longer working royals, it is understood they would not have any formal role to play in the coronation. Their children, Prince Archie, three, and Princess Lilibet, one, would be thought too young to attend.
Charles has met his granddaughter, Lilibet, once, when the couple briefly returned to the UK to attend a service of thanksgiving for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee in June.
Those expected to join the king and queen in the carriage procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace after the crowning and enthronement include the Prince and Princess of Wales, with their children, the Princess Royal and V-Adm Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra of Kent.
