The British royal family will be together at the coronation of King Charles III on May 6 – sort of. Buckingham Palace released a statement released on Apr. 12, confirming that Prince Harry will attend the May 6 event, but his wife, Meghan Markle, will stay home. “Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that The Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on May 6th,” said the royal decree. “The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.” Coincidentally — or not — May 6 happens to be Prince Archie’s birthday. Harry and Megan’s son will turn 4.
The news of the Prince’s attendance comes shortly after a spokesperson for Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, confirmed that the Palace had been in communication about them attending the coronation for Charles, 74, despite the recent falling out between Harry and his father, brother Prince William, and the rest of the British royals. “I can confirm The Duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty’s office regarding the coronation,” a rep for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said in a statement to Us Weekly. “An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time.”
Harry’s relationship with his family seems to be at a standstill, as per all the revelations shared in his memoir, Spare. Recently, Harry clashed with the royal family during a preliminary hearing for his lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). Harry is suing the publisher, claiming they have unlawfully obtained information via hacking. He claimed he learned of a similar alleged phone hacking claim he could bring against News Group Newspapers (NGN) in 2018 and blasted the royal family – i.e, “the Institution” – for not telling him about that.
The Institution was without a doubt withholding information from me for a long time about NGN’s phone hacking, and that has only become clear in recent years as I have pursued my own claim with different legal advice and representation,” he said during the 2023 preliminary hearing. “To this day, there are members of the Royal Family and friends of mine who may have been targeted by NGN, and I have no idea whether they have or have not brought claims.”