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Prince Harry’s status as a royal outcast was ruthlessly emphasized at his father’s coronation Saturday, as he was seated in the third row with the disgraced Prince Andrew and his family in Westminster Abbey, and forced to walk alone down the aisle wearing civilian clothing.
When the rest of the royal family, including Queen Camilla’s grandchildren, appeared for their centerpiece appearance on Buckingham Palace’s balcony, Harry was absent. The Sun reported Harry was en route to the airport as his father and brother and royal relations waved to the crowds, keen to get home to California where his son Prince Archie is celebrating his 4th birthday today.
The paper said that after the coronation ceremony Harry had gotten into a blacked-out electric BMW and driven the 20 miles to Heathrow, arriving by police convoy around 2.05pm local time. Harry was then escorted into the VIP Windsor Suite at Terminal 5, the paper reported.
Earlier, Harry had put on a brave face, grinning broadly and chatting to Jack Brooksbank before the ceremony began at Westminster Abbey. Brooksbank is the husband of Princess Eugenie of York, and had given him an encouraging pat on the back as he made his way into the Abbey about twenty minutes before the event kicked off at 11am local time.
Harry did not make eye contact with his father or brother, Prince William, who, sources have told The Daily Beast, “hates” his brother after he eviscerated him and Kate Middleton in his memoir, Spare.
Harry did not join the Coronation procession. After chatting to Eugenie, Prince Andrew’s daughter, outside the church, Harry got into a car, but his destination at that moment—airport or Buckingham Palace—was unknown. On Saturday morning it was widely reported that Harry had been invited to a family lunch after the Coronation.
It must have all added up to the very strangest of days for Harry, who sat and watched as Camilla Parker Bowles, who he described as a “wicked stepmother” in his book, was crowned queen alongside her husband. Harry said in his book that he begged his father not to marry Camilla.
News of Harry’s humiliating seating position leaked out Saturday morning with a source telling the Sun: “There were discussions that the seating could be arranged on line of succession. But that would have put fifth-in-line Harry front and centre—and with William and Kate. Instead the decision was working royals only at the front and work back from there.”
The hardline on Harry came after an attack, apparently sanctioned by the king, was launched on Harry by the king’s reputed best friend Nicholas Soames.
Soames told Times Radio, in the course of a 30-minute interview praising the king, “In respect of Prince Harry, I just think it’s the most tragic. I mean, I can’t put myself in the position where my own son, if he did something like that to me, it would just be the cruelest… and one would mind.”
Prince Harry stands among guests during the coronation of Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla’s in Westminster Abbey, London, Britan, May 6, 2023.
RICHARD POHLE/Pool via REUTERS
Harry’s very public humiliation came after he had flown into Britain’s Heathrow Airport Friday morning on a commercial flight—American Airlines flight AA136 from Los Angeles—and until the day of the Coronation itself it wasn’t clear what role, if any, he would have to play—and how he would be seated around, and interact with, his family.
His wife Meghan Markle stayed home in California with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. It is Archie’s birthday today, and Harry was widely reported to be spending a minimal amount of time at the Coronation before flying home to be with his own family.
Harry reportedly spent Friday night at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, his and Meghan’s British home which they are being evicted from by King Charles.
According to his sympathetic biographer Omid Scobie, Harry had had “minimal contact” with his brother, William, since the funeral of Queen Elizabeth but there has been a “pattern” of regular conversations between Harry and Charles, Scobie—who has on occasion acted as a de facto spokesperson for Harry and Meghan Markle—told ITV’s This Morning show Wednesday.
Scobie also said Harry always intended to come to the coronation but wasn’t sure if he would be invited. “Obviously this is the first time he has seen his family face to face since the release of [Harry’s memoir] Spare. But I don’t think people know there has been a somewhat regular pattern of conversation between him and his father since the release of that book,” Scobie said.
Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex looks on as Britain’s King Charles III leaves Westminster Abbey after the Coronation Ceremonies in central London on May 6, 2023.
BEN STANSALL/Pool via REUTERS
Scobie said Harry had spoken to his father about his and Meghan’s imminent eviction from Frogmore Cottage, saying “They lose the keys to that any week now, and he would have spoken to his father about that.”
Scobie dismissed claims that Meghan had decided not to attend the coronation due to it being on the same day as son Archie’s birthday, saying she was instead motivated by a desire not to overshadow proceedings.
Scobie told This Morning: “She is aware just how much of the spotlight goes on her when she sets even a foot near the story. It’s portrayed as intentional. Should she come over and just stand next to her husband, the commentary and the narrative of the day would have been very different… If you look back at some of Harry and Meghan’s biggest problems, it was all down to the fact that the attention was always on them at times when it shouldn’t have been.”
Scobie added that the Sussexes “had to wait for some time to really get the confirmation whether they were 100 percent welcome at this event,” but said that “for Harry there was certainly no question about [attending]. Ultimately he is fifth in line to the throne. He is a councillor of state. There is a serious constitutional reason for him to be here, and he takes that seriously, even though he’s not a working member of the royal family.”
