The Coronation of King Charles III is set for May of this year and whether or not his youngest son Prince Harry will be included along with his wife Meghan Markle has been a subject of much conjecture. Now, leaked plans for the Coronation rehearsal indicate that if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at Westminster Abbey, they will probably be watching from the sidelines.
The schedule shows there’s no place in the procession for Harry and Meghan, according to a report from The Times of London, though they have been invited to the ceremony. Also not included in the procession: the King’s brother, Prince Andrew otherwise known as the Duke of York, nor his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
The pared down procession is very different from The Queen’s coronation in 1953, which was apparently three times the size. Charles’ plans seem to include “working” royals only. Charles’ eldest, Prince William, will be in the procession along with his wife Kate Middleton. The Prince and Princess of Wales will be bringing their children, George, Charlotte, and Louis. Louis was considered too young to walk in the procession for the Queen’s funeral in September, but he is being included this spring.
However, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, Meghan and Harry’s children, have not been invited to the Coronation. One might come at a later date, but the time for the ceremony is getting closer.
In early March, the Sussexes confirmed that they’d received an invite via their representative, but the spokesperson added, “An immediate decision on whether the Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time.”
An anonymous source told OK! magazine as reported by The Sun that there are “tense” negotiations going on to determine whether Meghan and Harry will be there in May.
“The Palace are trying to wrap up negotiations as quickly as possible because they can’t go right up to the wire,” said the alleged insider. “It could lead to chaos. It could very well be that it ends in stalemate, and they won’t attend. But the Palace is doing everything in its power to not let that happen. The Palace are organizing two schedules. One that includes the Sussexes and one the doesn’t. They want to be prepared for any eventuality.”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.
