Prince Harry Didn't Hear Directly From King Charles About His Coronation Invite, Source Claims

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were of course invited to King Charles' coronation, but there was no "sit-down" like Harry might have wanted, according to one source. In fact, the invitation came not via the King himself, but via his office.

"They didn't hear from Charles. Harry wanted to hear from his father directly—it's always through somebody," a close friend of the royals told People.

Eventually, though, the father and son were able to talk and had "positive conversations," according to another source.

This corroborates earlier reports that the two men had a heart-to-heart about Harry attending the coronation, which showed that there was "willingness and wanting to mend on both sides."

The friend who spoke to People added that for the Duke of Sussex, "This is about a son showing up for his father rather than the optics of the institution."

In early March, the Sussexes confirmed that they had been invited in a statement. 

A spokesperson for the couple said at the time, "I can confirm The Duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty’s office regarding the Coronation. An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time."

It then took them weeks to reach a final decision, which turned out to be that Prince Harry would attend the historic event, while his wife Meghan would stay at home with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

The close friend told People, "Meghan wants to be there to support her father-in-law, but at the same time, the scrutiny she receives outweighs the support.

"There's always going to be that other side challenging their reasoning, and who wants to put themselves in that position?"

Indeed, Harry and Meghan were not received particularly warmly at the Queen's Jubilee last year, so it makes sense that the duchess would wish to protect herself from that scrutiny this time around.