3 Ways the Royal Family Is Making Sure Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Don’t Stand out at the Coronation
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have not publicly stated if they are attending King Charles III’s coronation but most royal watchers agree there’s no way they’ll miss the chance to be seen by millions around the world and remind everyone of their connection to the family.
Their presence, however, does create the risk of the religious ceremony becoming more like a media circus. So there are a few things reportedly being done to keep the Sussexes from turning the ceremony to crown the king into the Harry and Meghan show.
Put in the cheap seats
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose to step down from their roles as working royals, they gave up their status within the Firm. At Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, we saw how Meghan and Harry were treated just like other non-working royals when it came to the seating arrangements inside St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The Sussexes were relegated to the second row on the opposite side of the church from King Charles and Prince William. Harry did not look happy with the seating and as royal author Tom Bower noted, the duke attempted to change their positioning within the row. The usher, however, told Harry that would not be possible, and when the prince demanded to know who gave that order the usher responded: “Your grandmother.”
It’s expected that like his late mother did, King Charles will also give the order that Harry and Meghan will be in the “cheap seats” for the coronation likely alongside Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and their husbands. By doing so the spotlight will be on the monarch, the queen consort, and other working royals taking part in the ceremony.
No balcony appearance
Multiple reports claim that the Sussexes have a number of demands they want the family to meet before they grace them with their presence on May 6. And one of those demands is that the couple can appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony with the working royals.
Trotting them out on the balcony though really wouldn’t be a good look for anyone at this point. For the Sussexes, it would make them look hypocritical smiling and waving alongside a family that they claimed treated them so poorly. And for the king, given the pulse of much of the British public, it wouldn’t be wise to allow them to stand on the balcony and run the risk of booing.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl is one of many royal experts who said that there’s no way Meghan and Harry will or should be up there.
“It has already been agreed that only working royals will make a balcony appearance during the coronation and sources have said that the focus will be on King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Princess Kate,” Nicholl wrote in Vanity Fair.
Archie and Lilibet not invited
When it comes to the Sussexes’ children, the public rarely sees them so if they attended the coronation cameras would be eager to capture shots of them and that would take focus off the king. Therefore, it’s highly unlikely that Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet will be there.
Another reason is it’s believed they weren’t invited because of their ages. Archie turns 4 on the day of the coronation and Lili won’t even be 2 yet. Young children usually don’t attend the ceremony.
When Queen Elizabeth was crowned in 1953 Princess Anne was not there as she was deemed too young to be at Westminster Abbey for the ceremony. Charles, who was 4 years old at the time, was present but only because of his position as the next person in the line of succession to the throne behind his mother.
