King Charles III, Queen Camilla, and working members of the Royal Family appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a fly-past performed by the British Armed Forces and to greet the thousands wishing to honour the newly crowned King on his day of Coronation; however, the Monarch’s youngest son and his wife, Meghan and Harry, were notably absent.
Capping off the momentous occasion of the first coronation of a British monarch in nearly 70 years, King Charles III took to the balcony of Buckingham Palace on Saturday afternoon to witness a fly-past by aircraft from the British Armed Forces, including helicopters and the Red Arrows. Unfortunately, due to inclement weather conditions, the fly over was scaled down, with the rain preventing historical aircraft from World War II from joining the celebration.
The Royal Family watch the Coronation flypast, formed of helicopters and the Royal Air Force aerobatic team The Red Arrows – scaled back because of poor weather. pic.twitter.com/ofMhbTIEAY
— GB News (@GBNEWS) May 6, 2023
The King was joined on the balcony by members of his family, including his wife Queen Camilla, his elder son and the heir to the throne William, Prince of Wales; his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, and their children Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte.
King Charles, Queen Camilla and other members of the Royal Family have appeared on the balcony at Buckingham Palacehttps://t.co/PpPLdMd9Sa pic.twitter.com/S1HyLHESgA
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) May 6, 2023
Also joining the newly crowned King to greet the thousands gathered on the Mall were his brother Edward and his wife Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh; the King’s sister Anne, Princess Royal; Vice-Admiral Timothy Laurence, The Duke of Kent; Princess Alexandra; Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester; and Brigitte, the Duchess of Gloucester.
Crowds fill the Mall following the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, ahead of the King and Queen’s appearance on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, London. Picture date: Saturday, May 6, 2023. (Photo by Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images)
However, there was a notable absence from the balcony: Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and the younger son of the King, who reportedly already left for the airport by the time of the fly-past. The Duke, who arrived in the UK from his Hollywood home on Friday, did not take part in the procession back to Buckingham Palace from Westminster Abbey or appear on the balcony, as he is no longer a “working Royal”, having shirked his responsibilites in favour of money-making ventures with his wife in America.
Harry’s attendance at the Coronation is more than could be said of his wife, Meghan Markle, who stayed at their home in California. Reports had claimed that she refused to attend the ceremony over continued tensions with the Royal Family over alleged “unconscious bias” about race. Meghan has denied such reports and claimed that she stayed at home to be with her young children, Archie and Lilibet.
Meghan not Going to Coronation over Royal Family’s ‘Unconscious Bias’: Claim https://t.co/tdQ3ZThlOi
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 22, 2023
The relationship between the woke couple and the rest of the Royal Family have been frayed in recent years, particularly following their infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which Meghan claimed that an unnamed member of the Palace was concerned about how dark her son’s skin would be given her mixed race background — a claim she has never substantiated.
Harry Demands Royals Accept He Is Not ‘Delusional’ and Apologise to Meghan https://t.co/9CND6wvNdP
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 15, 2023
Relations were further soured with the publication of Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare, a reference to him being the child to “spare” in the line of succession. The book, which recounted many of his grievences against his family, reportedly angered his brother, Prince William, in particular.
Harry, who reportedly has already left for the airport to return home, was also relegated to the thrid row during the crowning ceremony in Westminster Abbey, sitting alongside his cousins, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie rather than with his brother in the front row. In a somewhat comical moment, it appeared that Harry’s view of the King was obstructed by the feather worn in the cap of his aunt, Princess Anne, who was dressed in the uniform of the Blues and Royals cavalry regiment, which she serves as colonel of.
Prince Harry’s view obscured by Princess Anne’s feather – as he was relegated to third row #lifestyle #travelphotography #instadaily #england #uk https://t.co/xtbwhLo13y pic.twitter.com/8jDDxiIFuI
— (@PressReview99) May 6, 2023
The Prince, who was in the British Army for a decade and served in two tours in Afghanistan, has not been permitted to wear his military uniform since he left his role as a working Royal.
Donald Trump said he was “surprised” that Prince Harry was invited to the Coronation after the “disrespectful” actions of Harry and Meghan. https://t.co/J27S7OgUmI
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 3, 2023
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka