Recalcitrant royal Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are allegedly yet to even confirm they will be attending King Charles III’s coronation next month, but even if they do they won’t be welcomed onto the world-famous Buckingham Palace balcony during the day’s festivities.
Three senior Royals have been omitted from the plans of those who will be present on the Buckingham Palace balcony on the day of the coronation, in which tradition sees the new monarch surrounded by close family greeting the crowds outside the Royal palace.
Prince Harry, the son of the new king, and his American actress wife Duchess Meghan both withdrew from the frontline work of Royal life to move to the United States, with Harry losing Royal appointments including colonelcys of British regiments as he decided to pursue a new life abroad. In doing so, the pair removed themselves from the so-called working royal group, the inner circle of senior royals who actually perform the full-time job of constitutional, charity, and social functions of monarchy.
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Because only this group of working royals will be welcomed onto the balcony to take the wave on coronation day, Harry and Meghan effectively excluded themselves from consideration from a very public place in history on the big day, reported The Times. Remarkably, UK tabloid newspaper The Mirror reports Harry and Meghan have ‘demanded’ to be included in the balcony group.
Also missing out on the balcony is senior but non-working royal Prince Andrew, the King’s brother. He was frozen out of the working group of royals after he made ill-judged reactions to claims that he was involved with Jeffrey Epstein. While claims have not been proven against Prince Andrew, and he insists his innocence, the King’s brother appears to be held at arms length by the Royal Family until things are settled.
The reasons behind the exclusions and invitations for the famous balcony, which for many around the world will be the culmination of an event of pomp and pageantry which is likely to be one of the most-watched television events ever, are functionally the same as Queen Elizabeth II’s jubilee celebrations last year shortly before she died. Buckingham Palace said last year of the decision to exclude Harry and Meghan, and Prince Andrew from the balcony that:
After careful consideration, the Queen has decided that this year’s traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd of June will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the Royal Family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen.
It is not yet even clear whether Harry and Meghan will come to the coronation at all, with no public confirmation of the pair having accepted their invitations to attend having been made.
The Coronation will take place on May 6th, an event triggered by the death of the long-serving Queen Elizabeth last year. While King Charles III, under the principle of continuity and primogeniture become monarch instantly upon the death of his mother, the coronation itself typically takes place up to a year later. As such, it is a symbolic occasion and the delay gives time for the period of mourning after the old monarch’s death to complete and for planning for a day intended to be joyous and full of celebration to take place.
As per tradition, the Coronation will take place at Westminster Abbey, being the 40th coronation to take place at the ancient church since the 11th century. Oaths are made, the monarch is anointed, and several symbolic items including spurs, an orb, a ring, and a sceptre are presented before the King is crowned and moves from chair to throne.