Prince Harry Went to Buckingham Palace After the Coronation

Prince Harry chatting with cousins at King Charles' Coronation

(Image credit: Getty)

published 9 May 2023

We always knew that Prince Harry would be in the U.K. for a flying visit when he attended the Coronation this past weekend, but I don't think any of us anticipated just how short this visit would be.

Not only did the Duke of Sussex not stay for the concert the next day, but he literally took a 3:45 p.m. flight from London to LAX (per the Telegraph), even though the ceremony only ended around noon. Sure, as a royal, he probably gets all sorts of fast-tracked in airports, but still, that seems awfully rushed by anyone's standards.

Anyway, between the ceremony at Westminster Abbey and heading off to Heathrow airport, the duke apparently made a pit stop at Buckingham Palace, as reported by the Telegraph, but while there did not interact with any of the Royal Family.

For context, the King, Queen, and other working royals headed to the palace following the ceremony, where they greeted well-wishers and watched the ceremonial flypast from the balcony, and where they had official portraits taken by photographer Hugo Burnand, per WalesOnline.

While Harry has had a difficult relationship with his family in recent years, especially after his memoir Spare was published, he was able to find a semblance of comfort during the Westminster Abbey ceremony, as he interacted with cousins Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and their spouses.

"I felt like he was in cousin corner, which feels like a comfortable zone, and he had a lot of wonderfully expressive moments," commented Rachel Bowie, a co-host of the Royally Obsessed podcast (via Express).

As for Harry's decision to leave England as soon as he could, this was in part so that he could make it back to California in time to celebrate his son Archie's fourth birthday, and most likely also in part because of his difficult position in the Royal Family these days. As a very obvious example, he wasn't included on the Buckingham Palace balcony, despite being one of the King's two sons.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.