London
CNN
—
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have received an invitation to King Charles III’s coronation, but the couple have yet to confirm whether they will attend, the duke’s spokesperson told CNN on Sunday.
“I can confirm that the Duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty’s Office regarding the coronation,” the spokesman said. “An immediate decision on whether the Duke and Duchess will attend will not be announced by us at this time.”
King Charles and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, will be crowned at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
The coronation will be celebrated across the country for three days, with the public invited to participate.
Buckingham Palace said the coronation itself “will be a solemn religious service, as well as an occasion for celebration and pageantry”, which “reflects the monarch’s role today and looks to the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions”.
That line has been interpreted by experts as hinting that Charles’ coronation will be different and more subdued than that of his late mother seven decades ago, with a shorter ceremony and changes to some of the ritual’s more feudal elements.
At the moment, the palace has not specified which members of the family will appear in a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey and on the balcony of the palace next to the King and Queen Consort at the end of the day.
It follows Prince Andrew’s continued exile from public life following historic allegations of sexual abuse and the publication of Prince Harry’s memoirs, who spoke out against his family.
Harry has previously declined to question whether his family will return for his father’s coronation.
“The door is always open,” he said in an interview with Britain’s ITV in January to announce his book. “The ball is in their court. There is a lot to discuss and I really hope they are willing to talk about it.”
On Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told CNN that the couple had been asked to leave Frogmore Cottage, their official British residence.
Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday it would not comment. A royal source told CNN such discussions would be a private family matter.
