The answer to the question of whether Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will attend King Charles III’s coronation is likely to be yes and nay, respectively, according to a longstanding royal source.
After inheriting to the British monarchy in September upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Charles will be formally crowned on May 6.
Harry’s latest autobiography, “Spare,” has worsened tensions within the royal family, which Harry and Meghan have often attacked.
Paul Burrell, the former butler of Harry’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, told the New York Post that Harry may end up attending his father’s coronation by alone.
Charles “maintained the moral high ground” by inviting the couple to the celebration, according to Burrell.
“It’s likely to be incredibly uncomfortable for them if they attend, particularly Meghan,” Burrell said in an interview with Closer.
“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 the bus,” he said.
“But 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,” he added.
“The ball is well and truly in Harry and Meghan’s court,” Burrell said, noting that for Harry — who attacked Queen Consort Camilla in his memoir — it will be difficult to see his father’s second wife “where his mother could have been.”
In an interview snippet released by the Mirror, Burrell stated that Harry may soon have to face the consequences for betraying his family.
“The king’s wrath is yet to come down on his son. He has criticized the woman he loves in public,” he said.
“Harry and Meghan should stay in America and live a long and happy life there. There’s not a life for them here now. They’ve turned their back on the royal family, the country and the people of the country.”
Author Tom Bower, who wrote “Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors,” offered a different opinion about the Sussexes’ coronation attendance in an interview with GB News, according to the Mirror.
Bower said Harry and Meghan are “weighing up” which option will best “promote themselves.”
“They haven’t got to come. If they’re put in row 54 behind a column, they won’t come, which is exactly what should happen,” he said.
Bower stated that the king should not micromanage them.
“They weren’t even invited to Elton John’s party at the Oscars,” he said.
“They really are nobodies in Hollywood, but somehow King Charles is going to make them somebody in London at the most important event of his life.
“Of course, that is the problem. He’s not being decisive and he’s going to undermine the state of the monarchy in Britain if he’s not very careful.”
The Daily Mail quoted what it called a friend of the royal family as saying that if Harry and Meghan attend, “They will be given the cold shoulder by very many relatives. One said to me, ‘I hope they’ll be seated in Iceland.’”
“Many of the family just want nothing more to do with them. If they have to see them at the coronation then so be it, but they do not want to socialize with them,” the Mail quoted the friend as saying.