The big question of whether or not they want what Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been lurching about – their decision to attend King Charles III’s coronation – should be reaching its due date.
That’s if the Duke of Sussex’s lawyers spoke the truth in a court case for one of his many pending lawsuits. Harry’s lawyers complained about a request from the UK Home Office to give him 28 days’ notice of any visit to the UK so that his security needs can be properly assessed. The Telegraph reported last month.
The coronation for Harry’s estranged father is on May 6. If that 28-day requirement is still in place, Harry should let the Home Office know this Saturday whether he will attend. That is so that RAVEC, the police and government commission that oversees the protection of members of the royal family, can decide if and how to provide security for him and Meghan, if she also decides to attend the coronation.
On a related matter: The RSVP deadline for the coronation invitation has passed on Monday, Buckingham Palace royal insiders have been told the daily mail they are “no wiser” about whether the California-based Sussexes will be at the Westminster Abbey ceremony.
The pair keep the royal family – and the feverish British media – on their toes over their presence. Prince William is supposedly “bewildered” by Harry’s reluctance to publicly accept his father’s invitation to his coronation and believes his brother is deliberately “being difficult” by not disclosing his and his wife’s intentions. reported the Daily Beast.
“William is baffled that Harry is not saying publicly that he is coming to the coronation, especially as everyone thinks he will be there,” an anonymous personal friend of William’s told the Daily Beast. “Relationships have never been this bad, and it feels like Harry is just trying to be tough, honestly.”
Harry and Meghan confirmed they had received an invite in early March, but their spokesperson said at that time they’re not ready to say whether they’ll make the trip from California to attend.
The London Times reported Thursday that the Sussexes were “on the verge” of saying if they would be there as organizers try to finalize plans for 2,000 guests, many of whom are international heads of state and VIPs.
Charles and organizers “worked under the assumption that Harry and Meghan will come,” as they have not heard anything to the contrary, a friend of the king told the Daily Beast. The anonymous friend added that the family and family as a whole are determined not to be “distracted” by the uncertainty surrounding Harry and Meghan.
The Times said the Sussexes have been waiting for President Joe Biden’s plans for some reason. Now that Biden has told Charles over the phone that he won’t be there and is sending First Lady Jill Biden to represent the United States in his place, the Sussexes are expected to announce their plans “within days,” according to The Times.
Page Six also reported that the couple’s plans were almost done with a source saying: “There have been lengthy discussions between the Sussexes and the Palace. There is of course a time limit to this. It’s such a historic event and we hope Harry and Meghan will be there.”
Those discussions are probably about Harry’s concerns about safety. Harry has gone to court over the British government’s decision to deny him and his family the right to automatic protection since they left royal life in 2020 and moved to the United States.
The discussions may also concern Harry’s demand that he meet members of the royal family in person before attending the coronation, the Daily Beast suggested. Harry told TV interviewer Tom Bradby in January that he wanted such a meeting. He also told another interviewer, Bryony Gordon of The Telegraph, that he wanted “an apology for my wife”.
Given the criticism Harry directed at his relatives in his memoir “Spare” and in his and Meghan’s Netflix series, anonymous royal sources have insisted that the royal family will not make such gestures towards Harry and Meghan, firmly believing that they don’t have to apologize for anything. said the Daily Beast.
It was widely reported that Charles was unable or unwilling to make time to see Harry on his surprise trip to London on March 27 to appear in court for yet another of his lawsuits. Harry is suing the publishers of the Daily Mail and other publications over alleged incidents of phone hacking and invasion of privacy that mostly took place from 1993 to 2011, the New York Post and other outlets reported.
The Telegraph reportd that Harry “connected” with his estranged father prior to his trip, only to be told that the King was “busy”. Charles would travel to France – his first overseas trip as a monarch. But even after the trip to France was canceled due to ongoing riots, Charles still couldn’t fit his son into his schedule, according to The Telegraph.
Nor is it likely that Harry spent time with William, as his older brother and his family were away on vacation for their children’s school holidays, the New York Post reported.
When it comes to the coronation, the Telegraph previously reported that the duke was in a “predicament” over whether to attend, aware that it would be the most important day of his father’s life. However, Harry has had little or no direct communication with his father since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, while the relationship with William “isn’t even rock bottom right now, it doesn’t exist,” a source told the Daily Mail.
“I just don’t see, if Harry came to the coronation, how William could bring himself to look his brother in the face,” another source reportedly told The Daily Mail.
Even as Harry and Meghan continue to keep people guessing about the coronation, organizers are assuming they will be there, according to the Times.
A source recently told The Times that palace staff believe Harry will come, but are less sure about Meghan. Even if the Sussexes are present, they will not be part of the post-service procession or join other working members of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, as they are no longer working royals.
