While Prince Harry will be in attendance at King Charles III’s historic coronation, it’s unlikely he’ll be playing much of a role in his father’s big day.
ET recently spoke with royal expert Eloise Parker, who shared some insights on what will likely go down between Harry and Charles during the grand ceremony on May 6.
“I fully expect Prince Harry to be very much on the sidelines during this ceremony,” Parker shared. “This ceremony is all about King Charles III and the Queen Consort, so I would expect even the Duke and Duchess of Wales, William and Kate, will also be at the sidelines for this [event].”
It was recently revealed that Harry will be attending the coronation alone — while his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children — Prince Archie, 3, and Princess Lilibet, 1 — will remain at home in California.
“[There was] some surprise that Harry is going alone, [but] not so much when you realize that it’s his son Archie’s birthday the very same day,” Parker explained. “So Meghan is in fact going to be staying home in California to celebrate that birthday, which is perhaps quite convenient given the tensions between the two families right now.”
While Harry will be there solo — and likely will be mostly out of the spotlight — Parker said it is “impossible to believe there’s not gonna be some amount of tension, given just how intimate Harry’s revelations were for the entire family in his book, Spare.”
“I think this is the first time they’re gonna be in person since the launch of that book,” Parker added.
However, for Harry, the amount of fanfare and celebration being paid to his father at the coronation will likely allow him a bit of relief from the pressure of attention.
“There’s going to be thousands of people around, all needing attention, Charles is gonna be very much at the centre of that, so hopefully for Harry that’s gonna take the emphasis off him,” Parker shared. “I think most people are hoping that the father-son Relationship will heal over time unfortunately, I just don’t think the coronation is gonna be the event for that to happen.”
“There’s just gonna be too many people, too much pressure, and far too much going on,” she said, adding that any eventual reconciliation is almost certainly going to come after the highly public royal event.
King Charles III’s historic, star-studded coronation ceremony is set to commence May 6. Check out the video below for more on the grand event.
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