When Is Prince Harry Leaving the Coronation for Archie’s Birthday Party?
Royal family followers are looking forward to King Charles III’s coronation happening on Saturday, May 6, 2023. Prince Harry plans on attending the coronation despite Meghan Markle staying behind in California. The couple’s son, Prince Archie, turns 4 on coronation day, and Meghan wants to stay back for that reason. Now, it looks like Harry will try to make both the coronation and his son’s birthday. What time is he leaving the coronation?
What time will Prince Harry leave King Charles’ coronation?
Prince Harry’s about to have a jam-packed weekend. King Charles invited Harry and Meghan Markle to the coronation, but only Harry plans on attending. Many royal family followers assumed this meant that Harry would skip out on Archie’s 4th birthday. But new reports suggest Harry plans on heading home immediately after the coronation to get back to California in time for his son’s big day.
So, what time will Prince Harry leave the coronation? Reports suggest he’s only staying in the UK for 24 hours, and he’s leaving the ceremony within two hours of it ending. “Harry will be in and out of the UK in 24 hours,” an insider shared with The Sun. “He will only be doing the coronation service, then leaving.”
The coronation begins at 11 a.m. local time and finishes at 1 p.m, which means the ceremony begins at 3 a.m. PDT and ends at 5 a.m. PDT. It’s likely Harry will catch a plane back to California by 3 p.m. UK time, which could put him back in Santa Barbara by 4 p.m. PDT. While Harry will likely be tired from his whirlwind travels, he could theoretically return home well before the sun goes down in California.
Meghan Markle isn’t attending because of Prince Archie’s birthday
Prince Harry will attend King Charles’ coronation, but Meghan Markle opted out. While she claims to be staying home for Archie’s birthday, royal expert Omid Scobie told the Hindustan Times that she’s also clearly “protecting her peace” by not going.
“People around the Sussexes guided press at the time that this is very much about Archie’s fourth birthday,” Scobie said. “I disagree with that to some extent because I also know from friends of hers that she’s protecting her peace as well. She is aware of how much the spotlight goes on her when she sets a foot near the story.”
The royal expert also noted that the royal family is likely feeling relieved that Meghan won’t be there. “I would say so, and I would put it down to the fact that so much of the attention goes on someone they would rather [it] didn’t go on,” Scobie added. “If you look back at some of Meghan and Harry’s biggest problems, it was all down to the fact that everyone was always talking about them and the attention was on them at times when it shouldn’t have been.”
King Charles isn’t allowing Prince Harry on Buckingham Palace balcony on coronation day
King Charles is reportedly happy that Prince Harry plans on attending the coronation. But Harry isn’t invited to join the working royals on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Perhaps Harry’s lack of a role during the coronation will also give him the opportunity to leave the festivities early to head back to California.
Royal expert Gareth Russell told Us Weekly that it’s no surprise that Harry wasn’t given any royal duties for the coronation, as the other royals didn’t want to “complicate matters further by having him involved … simply because … the royals are hoping that they can draw a line under the recent controversy with the Duke of Sussex.”
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