Inside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Decision to Go or Not Go to the Coronation
On May 6, King Charles will finally get his official Coronation ceremony, but the moment has been a bit overshadowed by the question of whether or not his youngest son, Prince Harry, would be attending with wife Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie and Lilibet. The couple have received an official invitation, though reportedly their kids have not been included — yet.
If they choose not to come, however, royal public relations expert Edward Coram-James told GB News that it would cause an “irreversible blow” to the family relationship. But it has also been said that if they do attend, they are likely to receive the “cold shoulder” from senior members of the royal family.
“They will be given the cold shoulder by very many relatives. One said to me, ‘I hope they’ll be seated in Iceland,’” a royal source told the Daily Mail in March. “Much of the family just wants 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.”
What a conundrum. Coram-James broke down the decision, saying, “In a universe in which the damage already caused by the rift is still recoverable from, at least in part, a no-show would be the fatal, irreversible blow, both in the public perception as well, potentially, as within the family itself. It risks drawing out the conflict over the long term.”
He added that not attending “would draw as much, if not more, media attention” than showing up.
“It would give further oxygen to the rift and allegations that the Sussexes have leveled at the royal family,” he explained. “And the shadow of their absence would loom large over the entire ceremony, risking becoming the elephant in the room and an unwanted sideshow.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s main concerns are allegedly that their kids will be snubbed. The date actually coincides with Archie four-year-old birthday. They want to make sure the children are acknowledged along with King Charles other grandkids, despite the fact that Harry and Meghan are no longer working members of the royal family. But they are still family.
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.
