Welcome to this week’s edition of , with admirable understatement, “It’s complicated.”
The comments to the Telegraph, attributed to a “friend,” are likely an accurate reflection of the couple’s thinking as the paper is one of the few with which they still engage.
The paper says that Harry understands it is “pretty much the most important day” of Charles’ life and would instinctively like to be there, but Harry having comprehensively trashed, ridiculed and indicted of various faults and cruelties his father and brother in his biography, Spare, the couple’s popularity has plummeted to historic lows and many believe they will be booed if they appear in public.
Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrive to celebrate Nelson Mandela International Day at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, U.S. July 18, 2022.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Harry has also made a point of suggesting he would be unwilling to attend the coronation without having a reconciliation meeting with his family first, telling ITV News anchor Tom Bradby, who asked him directly if he would attend: “There’s a lot that can happen between now and then, but you know, the door is always open, the ball is in their court. There is a lot to be discussed and I really hope they are willing to sit down and talk about it.”
However the royals have not offered a meeting and are unlikely to do so, believing they have nothing to apologize for. Harry also made public details of secret meetings in his book, and there are concerns private meetings could be later served up for public consumption.
“It’s complicated. There are a million different variables. Anybody could understand the predicament.”
— Friend of Harry and Meghan
By making clear that the couple will be invited, the royals have put the ball firmly in their court and left Harry and Meghan on the horns of a dilemma.
“It’s complicated,” a friend told the paper, “There are a million different variables. Anybody could understand the predicament.”
Invitations are due to be sent out in the next few days and the couple will not make a decision until an invite is received, the Telegraph says. “They’ll cross that bridge when they come to it,” the friend said. “They do not have any insight. They’re in limbo.”
So, what is Meghan up to?
The Telegraph has a crack this weekend at unpicking the mystery of the Instagram handle @meghan, which appeared last summer with a previously unseen childhood photograph of Meghan, shortly after she told The Cut magazine: “I’m getting back… on Instagram.”
However, nothing has happened since and the report notes that Meghan has been “conspicuous by her absence” during Harry’s PR campaign for his book.
But, the Telegraph, says, behind the scenes it’s a dizzying blur of activity. There have been big staff changes at Archewell as the company tries to shift its focus to making scripted content and she has now partnered with powerbroker Adam Lilling, the founder of Plus Capital in 2012, which describes its mission as enabling “the world’s top influencers – those who can affect more change in a day than most can in a lifetime.”
Most intriguingly of all, however, is a hint buried in the report by the respected royal reporter Camilla Tominey saying that due to her “busy schedule, and seemingly fewer staff” it is therefore “unlikely” that Meghan will attend the coronation on May 6. Oooh.
Subscribe here to get all the latest royal news and gossip with Tom Sykes and Tim Teeman.
Who paid for Fergie’s $5million home?
Fergie’s outright purchase of a £4.25 million ($5 million) property in London’s swanky Belgravia district last year set many scratching their heads. How did she afford it? Was this the same Fergie who described herself as “continually on the verge of financial bankruptcy” in a 2011 TV interview, and who moved in with her ex-husband rather than set up her own home?
Now, perhaps, a clue emerges. The Mail on Sunday has revealed that official paperwork shows she cannot sell the property without written consent signed by her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, speaks during a public memorial for singer Lisa Marie Presley, the only daughter of Elvis Presley, at Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. January 22, 2023.
REUTERS/Nikki Boertman
A legal source told the Mail that one explanation might be that it was her daughters who had plunked down the cash, or that “whoever purchased the property wants to make sure that her daughters ultimately benefit from it.”
A source described as “close to the Duchess” told the Mail: “She has bought it very much as a nest egg for the girls so it does not surprise me at all that she has put that kind of provision in.”
Insane Coronation traditions: an update
The Times had a wonderful story this week about the work of the Coronation Claims Office, which is responsible for adjudicating requests or “claims” made by aristocrats to serve their traditional roles at the coronation.
These include the right to carry the king’s spurs, hold his right glove, taste his wine and even present him with a pair of falcons. One ancient provision sees a dutiful noble servant paid in bolts of velvet. Many of these dubious honors go back to the 1377 coronation of Richard II, since when nobles have argued their “claim” to carry out duties for the sovereign at the coronation.
Reporter Valentine Low quotes the 7th Baron Carrington, 74, the new lord great chamberlain (the role is a job share between three families, rotating with the change of reign) as saying: “You can look up what lord great chamberlains did in the past—dressing and undressing the King, and anointing him and so on—but this is going to be different. And no one has been told what their duties are yet. The only piece of information I have is that I have to be there at 9.30am on the morning of the coronation. And there is a chart that shows me in a procession.”
We say: Bring on the falcons.
Adele and Ed Sheeran say no to Coronation concert
Adele and Ed Sheeran have both turned down requests to play King Charles’ Coronation concert on May 7, claiming to be too busy to do so.
A source involved with the project told the Mail on Sunday: “The king has suggested a number of people he would like to perform and Adele and Ed were on that list. He was very keen that they were part of the concert. There is a team set up to get the talent signed up so they approached the two of them, but got replies saying that they were unavailable, which was a massive disappointment. They are titans of the showbiz industry and are quintessentially British but also known across the globe. It’s such a shame.”
Adele poses with her Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Easy On Me” during the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 5, 2023.
REUTERS/Mike Blake
The Mail says Sheeran has a concert scheduled in Texas the day before, but could take a private jet to be at the Coronation. It is unknown what Adele’s schedule clash is, because, the Mail says, she has nothing “publicly listed” after her last Las Vegas concert on March 25. Charles still hopes Harry Styles will play the concert. Lionel Richie is apparently on the verge of saying yes, and Victoria Beckham (Posh) has yet to confirm to organizers if she’ll be part of any Spice Girls appearance.
Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber has been commissioned to compose an anthem for the occasion. “My anthem includes words slightly adapted from Psalm 98,” he told the Mail. “I have scored it for the Westminster Abbey choir and organ, the ceremonial brass and orchestra. I hope my anthem reflects this joyful occasion.”
This week in royal history
Well, today, February 19, is Prince Andrew’s 63rd birthday. He was born on this day in 1960 at Buckingham Palace. And what a birthday present—not—for him to be gazing at the front pages today.
Unanswered questions
Will Harry and Meghan show up or not show up at the Coronation? Who will play the Coronation concert? Will Charles really force Andrew out of Royal Lodge?
Love The Daily Beast’s royal coverage? Sign up here to get Royalist newsletters sent straight to your inbox.
